


Colors of the Heart

by Usagi_Baka



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-02 05:46:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4048462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Usagi_Baka/pseuds/Usagi_Baka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsuna has never been normal, from a young age he could always see the aura of color that surrounded other people, has always been able to see the long thin colorful threads that tangled one person to another. Yeah, he wasn't normal, he knew that, but no one else did, he was just getting his life back damnit, so he would like to keep it that way. Except he doesn't exactly get a choice when a strange man approaches him claiming they have a connection and are bound together, Tsuna can’t help but be a little incredulous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

 

For as long as Tsuna could remember his life has been full of color. The green of the trees, the blue of the sky, the brown of the dirt, and the many varying different shade of colors that surrounded people, that apparently only he could see. 

The first time he got the hint that the aura of color that surrounded everyone around him was something only he could see, he’d been five. His father had called, a rare occurrence in of itself, to tell his mother that he would be unable to make it home for their anniversary, it was the first of many. Tsuna had watched as his mother's beautiful, bright colors of green and blue had turned into a murky blue, growing darker the longer she spoke on the phone, and lasted as she hung the phone.

"Mama?" His mother's head snapped up, her attention immediately on the small child a few feet from her, a smile already on her face.

"Ah, Tsu-kun, I didn't see you come in here!" she said her voice cheerful, no different than usual, but Tsuna's attention was on the dark colors that hovered around his mother. She moved forward kneeling until she was Tsuna's height.

"Are you okay mama?" He asked, his attention shifting from his mother to the cloud of color. The smile faltered briefly, before returning once more.

"Of course Tsu-kun!" Tsuna frowned as the colors surrounding his mother remained the same, even as she continued to smile cheerfully. They were ugly compared to his mother's usual bright and vibrant ones.

"But your colors are different," he said in way of explanation. His mothers face took on a bemused expression, a light shade of yellow and orange breaking through the dark colors, as she looked down at herself.

"Tsu-kun, I'm in the same thing I've been all day," Nana said bemused, before a smile broke across her face as something seemed to click in her mind “Oh! Are you learning your colors in class sweetie?”

Colors? He was, but he didn’t understand what that had to do with anything. He gave a nod, and his mother’s smile brightened. Some of usual vibrant colors breaking through the darker ones. “You want to show mama?” She asked, laughing when Tsuna nodded eagerly. She took his hand and lead him back to where he had been seated drawing. She took a seat next to him, as Tsuna eagerly gathered his crayons and blank sheets of paper.

Tsuna didn’t understand why his mom wanted to know about his colors suddenly, but he was more than happy to show her, if it meant the dark blue that had surrounded his mother lightened around her. It was still there, but there were a speck of different colors now, and he had the feeling that that was okay.

* * *

 

 

There was a man named Hiroshi Eiji, who lived a few houses down from Tsuna and his mother.

He was a kind and helpful man, always willing to help any mother who needed a day to herself, or who just had too much on their plate and needed to leave their kid with someone so they would stay out of trouble.

Hiroshi got on well with the fathers of the household, he could always be seen speaking with one or another. He helped anywhere he could, he was a respected member of society, so to say. People trusted him, people loved him.

Tsuna, well Tsuna never wanted to be within reaching distance, or even within eyesight, of the man.

Not with the colors that always seemed to surround the man. They were a mixture of so many different colors they all blended together to make one single hideous shade. 

* * *

 

 

Tsuna was eight when things started going downhill for him.

It had been a normal day for Tsuna and his mother, a day like any other. His mother had announced that she would be needing to go to the store to buy some needed ingredients for that night's dinner and run a few errands as well. Tsuna hadn’t thought anything of it, had simply ran downstairs and pulled on his shoes, ready for the trip to the market. His mother had smiled at him, taken his hand and led the way out. It wasn’t until they had stopped in front of a house Tsuna always wanted to avoid, that Tsuna noticed his pack hung over his mother’s shoulder.

Hiroshi Eiji had stepped out of the house with a smile and already reaching for the pack his mother was handing off to him. Tsuna attention shifted between his mother and the man. The colors surrounding them both were so contrasting it hurt Tsuna’s eyes. His mother laughed at something Hiroshi said, before turning to Tsuna and kneeling before him.

“Tsu-kun be good for HIroshi-san, okay? Mama will be back in a few hours,” she said, the ever kind smile still plastered on her face. Tsuna quickly shook his head in denial, he didn’t want to stay with this man! “Don’t worry, I’ll only be gone for a small while.” she patted his head, before raising from her crouched position and turning to walk away. Tsuna glanced up at the taller man.

There was a loud ringing in his head, it was like there were alarm bells going off inside his head.

“Well come in Tsunayoshi-kun,” Hiroshi smiled, reaching for Tsuna's hand. Tsuna pulled away moving until he was just out of the older man's reach. A frown took over for the previously there smile, and Hiroshi made to reach for Tsuna again. Tsuna wasted no time in creating a larger distance between the man and himself.

Tsuna let out an ear piercing wail, that had the older man backing away from the child. The bag he was holding fell to the ground with a barely heard thump. The sound of hurried footsteps barely heard through the piercing cries of the child. It wasn't long before Tsuna's mother and a small group of worried bystanders were rushing into the yard, a look of worry overtaking his mother’s features. Tsuna wasted no time, running towards his mother and wrapping his arms around his mother's legs, clinging tightly to her skirt.

It wasn't until later as they entered the house, and away from prying eyes, that his mother finally asked the reason for his unusual behavior.

"Hiroshi-san is a bad man, he wants to hurt me," Tsuna mumbled, his face smeared with tears. His mother had stared in disbelief, before letting out a sigh.

"Tsu-kun, Hiroshi-san is a kind man, he won't hurt you," she said softly. Tsuna shook his head furiously.

"His colors are weird!" Tsuna exclaimed, leaning closer to his mother and clutching her arm, willing his mother to understand, "they're ugly and dark!"

Nana stared at Tsuna, her worry clear on her face. Colors, her son had been speaking about colors for as long as she could remember. "Tsu-kun, what colors are you talking about?" Tsuna paused, staring at his mother in confusion.

"The colors around you mama," Nana gave her son a smile, patting him over the head.

"Tsu-kun, the colors around you don't make you a bad person, it's just the color you favor," Nana explained, running a hand through the child's brown strands. Tsuna stared at his mother not comprehending what she was saying.

"No, you don't understand mama!" Tsuna shouted moving away from his mother's reach. "Hiroshi is a bad man!" The worry and confusion on his mother's face returned, and something was slowly coming clear.

"You see the colors, don't you mama?" His voice was soft and hitched as he tried his best to hold back tears. His mother shook her head not understanding what her child spoke of.

"What colors, Tsunayoshi?" His mother gave a small smile, an attempt to keep her son from crying. Tsuna shook his head, furious and upset at what was slowly becoming clear.

He wasn't normal.

* * *

 

 

The incident between Hiroshi and Tsuna was put aside in people's mind, seen as nothing more than a child too attached to their mother, and not quite ready to be separated just yet. It created problems for Tsuna at school, his classmates mocking him, but otherwise no one thought on it anymore, and no one listened to Tsuna's protest that that wasn't it.

After all there was no possible way Hiroshi Eiji was anything but the kind and gentle soul that everyone knew him to be.

So it came as a terrible shock a year later when police arrived at Hiroshi's home with an warrant for his arrest. It was quite the scene, police officers guarding his door, a large crowd held back by nothing more than the crowd's disbelief and fear that they had trusted that man.

The scene that Tsuna and his mother arrived to was one of police officers searching Hiroshi's house. His mother had errands to run and had taken Tsuna to the shopping district with her. Arriving to see the crowd of people, the disbelief and anger easily seen, had mother and child pausing on their way home.

"Oh my," the look on Nana's face was a perfect mix of confusion and surprise.

"Sawada-san!" Nana turned at the sound of the harried voice, it was the lady that lived across from them, Chou-san. Tsuna didn't pay much attention to her, to busy focused on the police officers before him. She hurried over to Nana. "It's terrible!" She said her hands clutched together in front of her. "Hiroshi-san has been arrested!" Nana let out a gasp of surprise. The words caught Tsuna’s attention, he turned away from the police officers to the woman speaking to his mother.

Hiroshi had been arrested? Tsuna could not help a small amount of relief he felt at those words. Arrested meant Hiroshi would have to go away, he would no longer be able to come near him or his mama. For the first time since seeing the woman, he took in the colors that surrounded her, they were a strange purple and blue. He tilted his head curiously, his eyes drifting over the crowd and police officers. They all had the same varying colors surrounding them, Purple and blue with just a smidge of dark yellows and red.

“What was he arrested for?” He heard his mother ask, and Tsuna focused on her once more, her usual green dimmed with a light yellow and blue.

“It’s absolutely horrific!” Chou-san exclaimed, her face twisted into a look of utter disgust and disbelief, as if she still couldn’t believe it herself. “He-,” her words trailed off as she finally caught sight of Tsuna and something seemed to click in her head, as her face turned to one of absolute horror. Chou-san’s yellows turned darker. She turned back to Nana, grabbing a hold of Nana’s shoulder and pulling her away from Tsuna. Surprised, Nana released the hold she had on her child’s hand. Tsuna watched in confusion as Chou-san whispered furiously to his mother. He watched as the green that always seemed to surround his mother completely vanished. The colors around Nana turning into an ugly yellow and dark blue. His mother pulled away from the older woman, slapping Chou-san’s hand away when she made to grab Nana once more. His mother looked pale, her eyes wide as she turned back to Tsuna.

“I-I need to get Tsu-kun home,” She stated her voice shaking, as she stumbled to her way back to Tsuna, “come on Tsu-kun.”

“Mom?” Tsuna blinked in surprise as his mom grabbed him rougher than usual, not enough to hurt, but enough to shock the nine year old.

“Sawada-san!” Chou-san went ignored by his mother as she hurried them both past the crowd and in direction of where their house was.

* * *

 

They must have made it home in record time, but his mother didn’t even look winded, not like Tsuna did with trying to keep up with his mother’s longer legs. His mother slammed the door closed behind them, pushing Tsuna into the sitting room.

“Stay here Tsunayoshi,” the sound of his full name had Tsuna nodding without thought, he only watched as his mother walked past him and back into the hallway. The sound of running water followed his mother’s exit, and Tsuna realized his mother must have gone to the kitchen. The sound of cabinet doors being opened and then closed with more force than was usual filled the silence of the house.

His mother returned moments later, her hands clamped together in front of her. Her attention was solely on her son watching him closely, Her colors hadn’t changed at all. She moved closer and kneeled before him taking his smaller hands into her own. His mother's hands were shaking.

“Tsunayoshi, I need you to be honest with me okay?” Nana gave a tremulous smile, her hands tightening around the smaller pair. Tsuna quickly nodded, “sometime ago, you said Hiroshi was a bad man, how did you know?” Tsuna tilted his head in worried confusion, he had already explained how he knew.

“His colors,” he said, his voice uncertain. HIs mother’s expression shifted into something unreadable.

“What colors?” She demanded, voice desperate. Tsuna flinched back, unused to his mother’s current behavior. She was completely different to the happy, easy going woman that put him to bed every night. Nana tightened her hold on Tsuna’s hand, keeping him from pulling away, as she forced herself to calm.

“I’m sorry, Tsu-kun,” she said, voice brittle. She smiled, and it looked nothing like the usual vibrant one she always gave him. This one was sad and fragile, as if his mother only a step away from breaking down, “Tsu-kun did Hiroshi ever hurt you?”

Hurt him? Hiroshi had never even come near him after the first and only time his mother had tried to leave Tsuna in his care. Tsuna had personally made sure of it, he was never without his mother, and always avoided the man’s house.

He shook his head, and the colors around his mother darkened, even as she smiled and released his hands. She sent him up to his room to finish his homework. But even as he climbed up the stairs to his bedroom, and pulled out the things he would need to complete his assignments, the look in his mother's eyes were seared into his mind, the colors floating around her, still as clear as if he were standing next to her.

His mother did not believe him, not the tiniest bit.

* * *

 

 

It was only a month later that Tsuna was taken to his first psychiatrist. His mother had told the lady everything that was apparently wrong with Tsuna, about the colors that he saw and about Hiroshi. The lady had become a sort of annoyance to Tsuna, always asking questions about the colors and about Hiroshi, always giving a sigh of disappointment when Tsuna didn’t answer her questions the way she wanted him to.

He wasn’t sure how long he had seen that lady for, but she had quickly become one of his least favorite people.

It was within a session with her that he learned, that seeing colors he always seemed to see was not in fact normal. That perhaps, it was something he created to cope with the trauma of the incident with Hiroshi. She never seemed to listen when Tsuna denied it. She never seemed to listen when Tsuna said that Hiroshi never hurt him either, always nodding in understanding, as if she knew something he didn’t.

But It was also during a session that he learned that colors could have meaning. Well that certainly took Tsuna by surprise. Tsuna had quickly looked into it, asking his school librarian, who always seemed to know everything, about it. She had helped him by ordering him a few books on colors, when he had shown his interest.

* * *

 

 

After months of being taken to his sessions, (sessions he only went to because his mother thought they were helping him, and anything that would make the dark purple and dark blues surrounding his mother recede every time she looked at him, well he could put up with it.) He had learned that it was best just to lie. Lie to his mother, lie to the pediatrician, to the psychiatrist, to the neurologist. Lie, lie, lie. Lie that he was getting over his “trauma”, lie that he was better, (even though there wasn’t anything wrong with him!) Lie that he didn’t see colors anymore.

But he did. He continued to see colors everywhere he looked. He knew when someone was angry, or sad or happy or content just by the color that surrounded them. Knew when someone was lying or telling him the truth, even if they had the best type of poker face. He just knew, and lying had become a self defence, to keep people from poking and prodding at him.

And when one morning he woke to the sight of a long thin orange thread wrapped around his wrist, and fell to the ground in a tangled mess. It led downstairs and out the front door, he had been so tempted to follow it, something in him urging him to follow it, but the sound of his mother calling him had him turning away from the house’s front door. He walked to the kitchen where his mother was, and the sight of the indigo colored thread wrapped around his mother’s own wrist, had him laughing, because it was happening again.

It had been like waking up all those years ago to see his mother surrounded by an aura of vibrant colors, except this time it wasn’t just the usual aura of color he saw, but also the colored thread that led out the back door.

And when his mother asked him if he was alright, trepidation and caution clearly seen in the mix of colors that hovered around her, if not her face, Tsuna lied. Of course he was fine. He was absolutely fine.

But he was anything but fine, because maybe all those different doctors he had met were right.

Maybe he was going crazy.


	2. Chapter 2

Tsuna wasn't the most athletic or intelligent or even the most sociable. The whole being able to see people's true intentions made it a bit hard to really socialize with people and the fact that he had been given the name ‘no-good Tsuna,’ by his classmates. But that was besides the point.  
  
  
Every single doctor he continued to meet with, and most importantly his mother, thought him a teenager who had managed to get over a horrifying sort of trauma. Though, that didn't seem to stop the dark colors from appearing around his mother every time she would look at him or when they were in the same room together.  
  
  
It made things a bit difficult for them. Oh, his mother hid it all rather well, always with a smile on her face, she was amazing when it came to hiding her true feelings, and if Tsuna didn't have the advantage that he did, well he didn’t think he would have ever been able to tell. It didn’t seem to matter what all the doctors seemed to tell her, the colors never really disappeared around her, they would lighten into softer shades but never really go away.  
  
  
It was something truly heartbreaking to not be able to see the vibrant colors that always used to surround his mother. It probably took Tsuna longer to realize than it should have, but it became startlingly clear to him one day.  
  
  
Nana Sawada had deemed herself a failure as a mother, for something that had never really happened.  
  
  
For some time, Tsuna had done his best to reassure his mother that was not, in fact, true. He tried his best in school, tried to keep up with the other kids in gym class, but nothing ever seemed to get through to his mother, who was always letting him do what he wanted, never said anything in chastisement.    
  
  
It wasn’t long after that Tsuna realized nothing he did could make his mother feel better. So one day he changed his plan, by accident of course.  
  
  
There was an exam Tsuna had to take in class one day and even though he had studied for it, he had still failed it, horribly. The material just didn’t seem to process, the tests just made everything sound so complicated, even in class when the teacher simplified everything, Tsuna was distracted with all the varying shades of colors all in one single room.  
  
  
So he had failed, and when he had brought the test paper back to his mother with a needed signature, there had been nothing new to her face, just the same faux smile. That wasn’t what had caught Tsuna’s attention though, it was the soft flicker of a pale red-orange color that broke through the darker colors before it was overwhelmed and disappeared. Tsuna knew what that meant, his mother had been upset enough by the grade that it had shown through the darker blues and purples. His mother had signed the paper and said nothing. But a new hope had slowly blossomed.  
  
  
After that Tsuna stopped trying. Not that it was all that hard, he had barely been able to keep up with his fellow classmates, barely passing his classes. He brought home failed test paper after test paper, and each time the pale red-orange color would flicker, sometimes more red than orange, other times more orange than red. His mother’s faux smile would slip more and more each time, until one day she took the sheet of paper with no smile, a sort of blood orange color seeping through and overwhelming the then normal dark colors.  
  
  
Her lips had parted, eyes narrowed as she took in the contents written on the test paper. Tsuna knew then, that this had to be it, the moment he would get his mother back. The woman who smiled genuinely when ever she would see him, whose colors would shine just a bit brighter in his presence, who would scold him, however gently it truly was, when he failed or did something he was not supposed to do. The woman who was always surrounded by a beautiful emerald green.  
  
  
Her brown eyes met Tsuna’s own, and the light that had been in them for just a brief moment, dimmed. The beautiful orange color slowly faded away, replaced by what had to be Tsuna’s least favorite colors in the entire world. She smiled, grabbed a pen, signed where it was instructed, and handed the sheet of paper back. Tsuna took the paper, feeling numb all over. A loud roaring sound rang through his head.  
  
  
It was the worst feeling, having his mother turn away from him, it was like a rejection of the worst kind.

* * *

  
Tsuna had quickly learned that it was safer not to mention the colors he saw. Not to his mother, not to the doctors he had grown used to, especially not to his fellow classmates.  
  
  
Lie. Lie. Lie.  
  
  
It had become something he was always ridiculed about, just another thing on a long list of things they didn’t like about Tsuna. Something they laughed about to their friends ’No-good Tsuna was dumb and crazy,’ without knowing if it was in fact true or not.  
  
  
So Tsuna kept to himself, it was easier and less painful than knowing that the person who wanted to be his friend or even approached him, had ulterior motives, had intentions to make his life more difficult than it already was. So he kept to himself and became an outcast among those who once called themselves his friends until they realized just how weird and strange and absolutely no good at anything he was.    
  
  
Tsuna’s mother was distancing herself from him, his dad was nowhere he could possibly reach, and he had no friends to rely on. He was truly miserable.  
  
  
He spent most time outside, quickly learning that him just not being around tended to make the dark colors around his mother lighten. He spent most of his time outside, avoiding the place he called home for as long as possible, but being outside so often gave his tormentors easy access to him. In school nothing much happened, nothing more than mean and rude words being thrown at Tsuna, everyone still to scared at being caught by an authoritative figure and possibly getting into trouble, it was one of the few rare cases he was actually grateful for school. Outside though, outside they didn’t have those worries, and Tsuna had quickly learned that he never wanted to be out in the open or in an area without adults around.  
  
  
It was one day where he had been found by a group of classmates, that he found someone as vibrant as his mother had once been.  
  
  
He had been outside, near the park, when a group of boys that went to school found him. It honestly had not been the worst he had faced. He had known that they would not simply have let him pass, not with the pale red that surrounded the one who seemed to be the leader, he was aggravated and he was going to take that aggravation out on Tsuna. But they did nothing more than throw cruel words and shove him around roughly. Then they had shoved him hard enough that he landed on ground flat on his back, his head hitting the asphalt with a sickening crack. His eyes clenched tightly shut against the pain that blossomed from a single point.  
  
  
“Hey!” The voice was loud and echoed throughout the otherwise silent park. “What do you brats think you’re doing!?” Startled murmurs ran through the small group of boys, obviously not used to others interfering with their usual tormenting of Tsuna. They seemed to come to the conclusion that it would be best to run, because the sound of running footsteps broke through the pounding in Tsuna’s head. He heard irritated grumbling from above him, before there were hands pulling him up into a sitting position. Tsuna tensed, immediately shoving the unknown person’s hands off.  
  
  
“Hey, are you alright?” His eyes snapped open, immediately zeroing in on the long haired woman looking at him with open concern. Her hands hovered over him, as if wanting to check him for any injuries but holding herself back, having caught on to the boys discomfort. His attention darted away from the ladies face to the colors that surrounded her and was immediately mesmerized. She was surrounded by mix of orange-yellow, (obviously her concern was not something she was faking), a light red (irritation), but what had Tsuna mesmerized was the emerald green that seemed to glow brighter than any of the other colors.  
  
  
Almost like his mother’s own.  
  
  
“Hey, are you alright?” the lady repeated, her attention turning more worried. Tsuna’s attention snapped back to the unknown lady’s face. He gave a shaky nod, only to wince when it caused more pain to shoot through his skull. The woman gave a barely audible ‘tsk,’ before she crouched before him, pulling Tsuna closer to her. She raised her hand, until it was hovering over the back of Tsuna’s head. The flash of something bright caught Tsuna’s attention, his eyes immediately darting to the woman's wrist.  
  
  
There, wrapped around her right wrist was a bright yellow thread. Tsuna’s eyes followed it down to where it lay in a tangled mess on the floor, before leading down further down the street. It was brighter than his mother’s, not in the sense that yellow was a brighter, more eye catching color, but it seemed to glow brighter. It wasn’t as dull or faded as his mother’s own indigo color now seemed, or even his math teachers, who had a yellow string tied around his wrist as well.  
  
  
“You have a pretty nasty bruise back here,” the woman stated, her voice drawing Tsuna’s attention back to her instead of the string attached to her wrist, “does it hurt a lot?”  
  
  
Tsuna gave a hesitant nod, only to wince once more in pain. The woman let out a soft chuckle at the action, before taking his face into her hands and drawing her face closer to his, a kind smile on her face, “you probably don’t want to do that again,” Tsuna gave her a shy smile in agreement, and the colors around her brightened, “Ma, aren’t you a cute one!”  
  
  
“Hold still alright?” she said, before she returned her hands to the back of his head where the pain seemed to be the worse. Tsuna watched the woman in bewilderment, before a warm sensation seemed to dull the painful aches in the back of his head. His eyes widening in amazed wonder when she pulled back. His hand raising to where his head had made contact with the asphalt. There was no longer any more pain or even the bump that should have been there.  
  
  
“All better?” She asked, a kind smile still on her face even if she looked much more tired than she had just moments before.  
  
  
“Y-yes!” Tsuna smiled gratefully, “u-um, h-how did you do that?” He asked. The woman just gave him another smile.  
  
  
  
“Well that’s a secret!” She grinned, her eyes full of mischief. “It wouldn't be much of one if I told you, now would it?” Tsuna shook his head sadly. He understood the need for secrets. He had his own after all, some things were just better left not told to others. He had told his mother, and classmates all about the colors he saw, and look what that had gotten him. People labeled him crazy and his mother couldn’t stand being in the same room with him. “Now, what’s your name child?”  
  
  
“T-tsuna,” another smile and Tsuna couldn’t help but watch the pure green colors that surrounded the lady, it almost hurt his eyes looking at such vibrant colors after only really seeing the dark colors that overpowered everything else at times.  
  
  
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Tsuna,” the lady stood to her feet, before gently taking Tsuna’s hand and pulling him up as well. She dusted off the dirt that covered him. Her long dark hair falling forward at the movement.  
  
  
“U-um, w-what’s your name?” Tsuna asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot. The lady’s brown eyes lit up in embarrassment, as she seemed to remember she’d never introduced herself.  
  
  
“Oh my, I can’t believe I let that slip my mind when I’m always telling my own son to have manners!” She moved away, shifting until she was standing straight, and Tsuna had to tilt his head back slightly, “I’m Yamamoto Atsuko!” She grinned proudly, as she stared down at the child.  
  
  
Yamamoto Atsuko, that was the kind lady’s name. Tsuna grinned happily, eagerly taking the older womans hand when she offered it to him.  
  
  
The kind lady with the vibrant colored aura and bright glowing yellow string was Tsuna’s first friend.

* * *

  
Tsuna and Atsuko-san (‘don’t call me Yamamoto-san, Atsuko is just fine Tsuna!’) met at the park often. They didn’t do much but talk, and sometimes at Atsuko-san’s urging would play on the swings. Tsuna never wanted to go home after school, and Atsuko-san stayed with him until she had to leave, and then she would walk him all the way to the street his house was on, making sure he got home.  
  
  
Being in the house with his mother never got any better. In fact, it was stifling. Maybe it was the fact that Nana couldn’t look at Tsuna without growing upset or the fact that his mother never said a thing to him when he brought home a new sheet of paper from a teacher telling her how pathetic her son was in polite, clipped tones. And when she did say something it was a sigh and a muttered, “nothing new,” that Tsuna didn’t know if she had intended for him to hear or not, but always did.  
  
  
So he stayed out more often, always with Atsuko-san, her smile and vibrant auras like a balm to the bad things in his life.  
  
  
In their time together, he learned that she had a family of her own. They had moved here not to long ago, a husband who made some of the best sushi, and was soon opening his own restaurant and that Tsuna should come visit on opening day next week, she would get him some free sushi.  
  
  
She had a son Tsuna’s own age and when Tsuna heard this he felt absolutely terrible, because he was taking up all of Atsuko-san’s time, how could she possibly have time to spend with her own son? When he said as much to the older lady, she had laughed happily, claiming that her son spent most of his time playing baseball and he was at the age where he didn’t want to be seen with his mother.  
  
  
But the vibrant colors around his friend had dimmed slightly, a light blue appearing among the green. Tsuna remembered his own mother, not willing to spend much time with him anymore, and couldn’t help but think Atsuko-san’s son was an idiot.  
  
  
It didn’t take long for Atsuko-san to learn of Tsuna’s lack of athleticism, or his abysmal grades, turns out she was quite the athletic person. She had quickly taken to having Tsuna pull out his homework every time he arrived at their usual meeting spot, and helping him through it. When that was finished she had him run around the park, while it didn’t really help in his complete lack of athletic skills, she thought that was mostly to blame on his clumsy nature, it did help his stamina. It had gotten to the point where he could out run the bullies that chased him after school long enough for him to reach the safety Atsuko-san provided. His grades steadily improved with Atsuko-san’s kind guidance and where he’d once eagerly show his mother; he didn’t.  
  
  
He was scared of being rejected again, intentional or not. The hope of possibly getting his mother to feel something other than the usual distraught and disappointment that covered her like a coat had long since died away. He’d stopped hoping that his mother would return to her old self. No, he always showed Atsuko-san his improvement and she would grin proudly at him, and gently run her hand through his hair.    
  
  
Tsuna had grown comfortable with the older lady. Who never seemed to ask him questions, or press for answers when she did. And one day Tsuna had let slip that he wouldn’t be able to meet her the next day, because he had an appointment with one of those doctors, the look on her face was one of great concern. She had questioned why he needed to see a psychologist, Tsuna had shook his head furiously, because she was an adult that didn’t look at him as if he had suffered through some great horrific tragedy, who didn’t think him crazy. She had smiled sadly, but understanding hadn’t pushed for answers.    
  
  
Tsuna debated with himself. Debated, on whether maybe he should tell Atsuko-san that he could see colors around everyone, could see different colored pieces of thread attached to people’s wrist that seemed to lead on forever. Debated and debated and debated some more before setting the thought aside to think on some more later.

* * *

  
  
The strings that were wrapped around people’s wrists all varied in color. There were yellow, red, indigo and purple and blue, and green, but no orange. Not like his. His was a single orange thread mixed in a pool of different colored threads.  
  
  
Maybe he should be happy, he was original, unique, special. But all Tsuna could think about was the fact that there was just one more thing that made him different than everyone else, one more thing he didn’t have in common with others, something that could be a cause of ridicule, even if no one else could see it.  
  
  
The threads seemed to vary in brightness. Some vibrant and attention catching, while others were more dull and saturated, they looked sad and pathetic lying next to the more bold threads. Tsuna had quickly learned that the threads told him nothing of a person, not like the aura that surrounded everyone seemed to, and that the dull seeming colors were much more common than the brilliant ones. But they had to mean something if they were there right?    
  
  
“What are you staring at?” Atsuko-san asked, her voice as calm and soft as always. Tsuna pulled his attention from where he had been staring at a boy years older than himself, a dull green slip of thread wrapped snuggly around his left wrist.  
  
  
“Eh?” Atsuko-san smiled at him, before nodding her head back in the direction of the teenager he had been staring at earlier.  
  
  
“You were staring at his wrist, you did the same when you first met me,” she explained, turning where she was seated on the park bench until she was facing Tsuna. Tsuna gave a nervous shrug. Atsuko-san’s attention remained on Tsuna, as if she was considering something about him. Her full attention on him, had Tsuna’s heart racing, had him nervous that maybe she would figure out that Tsuna wasn’t normal.  
  
  
“You never look at people, you look at the area around them, and even their wrists,” she mused, her attention drifting to the teenager, who was waving at a group of boys the same age as him, who had to be his friends. That must be nice, having so many friends. She turned back to the child next to her. Tsuna curled into himself, his hands fisting themselves around the fabric of his pants, “what do you see that no one else can Tsuna?”  
  
  
Tsuna shook his head frantically, he couldn’t tell her, Atsuko-san would think him weird and leave him, and he didn’t want to be alone again! He needed something to distract her, anything to make her forget about her questions, even for just a while.  
  
  
“W-what does it mean when there’s strings attached to someone?” The words came out before Tsuna could truly think better of them. He turned slightly, eyes wide as he took in the bemused look on the older womans face. It was a habit, asking Atsuko-san for answers on things he did not understand, and at the moment he did not understand the point of the strings that were wrapped around everyone’s left or right wrist. It was a habit he never thought he would ever hate, until that moment.  
  
  
“String? What do you mean?” Atsuko questioned, her attention immediately focusing on Tsuna, but it was nothing like the intense stare she had given him moments before. Tsuna’s question taking her by surprise enough to throw her off topic. Tsuna felt himself relax.  
  
  
“W-when a colored string is wrapped around your hand,” Tsuna began, because maybe, just maybe Atsuko-san knew the answer. “They’re red and-,” his words trailed off when the older womans face lit up in recognition.  
  
  
“Are you speaking of the string of fate?” She questioned, leaning closer to the young child. Tsuna gave a shrug in reply, but attention remained focused on the long haired woman. She hummed softly, her hand coming to rest across her lap. She turned from the child next to her eyes drifting towards the park where a few children were running around playing.  
  
  
“It’s said that the red string of fate connects two people together, two people who were meant to meet.” Her voice was soft and low as she explained, her attention focused on the small group of children, “the string can tangle, stretch and make a complete mess of itself, but it can never really break.”  
  
  
Tsuna stared on quietly, letting the words settle in his mind. He glanced down at his right wrist, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that was what the thread wrapped around his own wrist meant. The thought of someone actually liking him even through all his faults was an appealing thought.  
  
  
“Maa! Well, it’s all superstition and all that!” Atsuko laughed, waving her hand back and forth, as if she could  possibly wave the thought away. The yellow string tied around her wrist shook with the movement catching Tsuna’s eye. Atsuko-san’s was yellow, and Tsuna’s was orange, not red, he noted. Did that mean something different?  “Well it’s about time we got you home. it’s getting late,” she stood to her feet, dusting off the blue sundress she had on, extending her hand to Tsuna. Tsuna took her hand without hesitation, jumping down off the bench.  
  
  
They walked on in silence, Atsuko-san humming softly to herself. It wasn’t until they had reached the street where Tsuna’s house resided in that Atsuko-san spoke.  
  
  
“You should really meet my son Tsuna!” She said cheerfully, a grin on her face as she stared down at the child. Tsuna startled, glancing up at the woman with wide eyes. “I think you guys would get along great!”  
  
  
“E-eh?”  
  
  
“Yeah! Takeshi really likes making new friends!” She continued, her hand tightening briefly around Tsuna’s smaller one, “I can bring him with me next week!”  
  
  
“E-eh, are you sure?” Tsuna asked his voice low, barely audible, but Atsuko heard him just fine.  
  
  
“Yeah! He doesn’t have practice next week, you could meet him then!” She declared, her grin not once ever faltering, “I think you two go to the same school, but different classes?” She mused to herself,and Tsuna felt the small joy of meeting someone new, of possibly making a new friend, slowly dwindle and die. There was no way Atsuko-san’s son would want to be Tsuna’s friend if he went to the same school as ‘No-good Tsuna.’ Everyone would have immediately told him about Tsuna.  
  
  
“Errm, I think it’s ok, you don’t have to bring your son,” Tsuna said, trying to keep his disappointment off his face. Atsuko glanced down at him her eyes sharpening, immediately sensing something wrong with the child.  
  
  
“Nonsense! You and Takeshi will meet, and be great friends!” Atsuko declared, her smile gone as she stared down at Tsuna, willing him to understand that it was inevitable and it was going to happen because she said as much. Tsuna nodded, slightly intimidated by the older woman. Her smile reappeared, happy at getting her way.  
  
  
“Great!” She clapped her hands together, before placing one on Tsuna’s shoulder and softly pushing him forward, “you should get home.” Tsuna nodded and moved to walk forward giving the older woman a wave.  
  
  
“Oh, Tsuna!” Hearing his name had Tsuna pausing, and turning to face the older woman. Atsuko had a gentle smile on her face as she met his eyes head on, “seeing things that others can’t, doesn’t make you crazy or weird just because some people say you are, it just makes you different, and to some, irreplaceable,” Tsuna’s eyes widened in surprise, because Atsuko-san had figured it out. She had observed him long enough she had realized Tsuna saw things no one else could see. Atsuko grinned, a mischievous gleam in her eye, before extending a hand and ruffling Tsuna’s already wild hair. She said nothing else simply turning on her heel and making her way home.  
  
  
And Tsuna, Tsuna watched her until he couldn’t see the older woman anymore, feeling nothing more than awe, and just a small spark of hope stirring. Maybe, just maybe someone wouldn’t call Tsuna crazy if he told them of the things he could see.  
  
  
Maybe someone already liked him, even through all his faults.

* * *

  
The day Tsuna was to meet Atsuko and her son came much too quickly Tsuna decided. He  shifted nervously in his seat. His eyes scanning the familiar area, trying to spot the older woman and her unknown child.  
  
  
Since their last meeting the thought of perhaps telling Atsuko of his strange ability of being able to see what exactly others were feeling had once more crossed his mind. Atsuko already obviously knew there was something different about Tsuna, if what she had said the last time they were together was any indication. It was the thought that she had known something was off about Tsuna, and still treated him no different, that gave him enough courage to show up to their usual meeting place.  
  
  
He would tell Atsuko-san, and maybe for the first time be accepted. He didn’t worry about meeting her son too much, after all the boy couldn’t be as mean as his other classmates right? Not with Atsuko-san as his mother. And maybe by the end of the day he would be able to add another person to his very short list of people who genuinely liked him. So he remained seated on the wooden bench, his legs rocking back and forth, his feet barely able to touch the ground.  
  
  
He waited, and waited, and waited.  
  
  
The parents that had decided to take their children to the park began to thin as the sun lowered. A red and orange hue taking over the sky, but still Tsuna remained where he was. His eyes scanning the almost empty area for any sign of the familiar woman. His eyes scanning the park, growing just the tiniest bit more frantic the longer he searched and waited.  
  
  
It wasn’t until the sky was dark, with nothing but the small crescent of the moon lighting the park, that Tsuna moved from his seated position, shifting his way off the cold bench he was seated on. His feet touched the ground with a barely audible crunch of dirt, but that seemed eerily loud in the quiet of the park. His eyes scanned the surrounding area once more, hoping for all his worth that a tall long haired figure would come running, emerging from the dark shadows, an apologetic grin on her face, as she explained why she was late.  
  
  
It had happened once before, maybe just maybe-?  
  
  
Nothing emerged from the dark, no movement, no sounds, nothing. Just the rustling of the trees that surrounded the park, as a soft gentle breeze swept through the area.  
  
  
She left you.  
  
  
His hands clenched into fists, in frustration, and what he had no doubt was heart break. He raised his clenched fist to wipe at the tears that were slowly making their way down his face.  
  
  
There was no way Atsuko-san would just abandon him! She had to have been held up, and maybe there was no way she could tell Tsuna? Maybe she didn’t make an appearance because she thought Tsuna would already be home. She would be here tomorrow.  
  
  
With that self assurance, Tsuna turned on his heels and made his way home. Atsuko-san would be upset with him if she ever learned he had stayed out so late when he had school the next day.

* * *

  
Tsuna returned to his and Atsuko-san’s meeting spot in the park the next day. Taking a seat on the bench, and pulling his school assignments from his school bag, he waited. He waited until dark fell, his eyes scanning the area for the familiar woman. His small hands clenched tightly around the same sheets of assignments he had pulled out when he had first arrived.  
  
  
He waited but Atsuko-san never appeared.  
  
  
He left, and returned the next day, and the next, and the next. Each and every time there was no sign of Atsuko-san. He continued on for a week, before beginning to accept the fact that maybe just maybe his one and only friend really, had truly abandoned him.  
  
  
  
Maybe she had grown tired of Tsuna’s lack of grace and no talent in anything involving athletic ability, so unlike her son in that regard. Perhaps she had grown annoyed with his inability to keep his attention focused on the assignments she was helping him through, always having to repeat things over and over again, before Tsuna even began to process them.  
  
  
Maybe she just finally realized how utterly useless, and abnormal Tsuna really, truly was.  
  
  
His hands clenched around the sheets of paper that sat on his lap. The crinkling of paper barely processing in his mind. His vision blurred as tears began to gather, and then fall, landing on the crumpled sheets of paper, the ink still visible smudging as the drops of water landed on them.  
  
  
The sound of approaching footsteps had Tsuna hunching into himself. His body tense, because no one ever approached Tsuna unless they wanted to hurt or ridicule him, with Atsuko-san being an exception. The sound of dirt crunching underneath slow and measured footsteps quieted. A pair of black polished shoes came to a stop before Tsuna.  
  
  
“You’re Tsunayoshi-kun?” It was a man speaking, his voice low. Tsuna gave a shaky nod of his head, but made no move to look up at the older male. The man let out a pained sigh and when he spoke next, his voice shook, as if the words he was speaking were physically paining him. “My name is Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi.”  
  
  
Hearing the familiar name had Tsuna’s head snapping up to stare at the taller male, because this was Atsuko-san’s husband. A smile quickly replaced the frown he had been wearing only moments before, his hands coming up to scrub at the tears that still remained. The feelings of rejecting vanishing in the fact that Atsuko-san must have had been caught with something. Something that she couldn’t get away from and so had sent her husband to tell Tsuna.  
  
  
“You’re Atsuko-san’s husband!” Tsuna exclaimed happily. Yamamoto-san gave Tsuna a shaky smile, his hand coming down to pat Tsuna’s head.  
  
  
“Yeah,” the man withdrew, taking in a deep breath as he turned to glance at the park. It was mostly empty, only a few kids running around, their laughter ringing throughout the area. “This is where you met with Atsuko,” he let out a pained laugh, “all she ever told me was that she would meet you in a park, never specified which one,” Yamamoto-san raised a hand to his face, covering his eyes as he curled into himself slightly, “it was like she just expected me to know which park you would be in.”  
  
  
Tsuna felt his smile slip, as his eyes drifted from the man’s face to the cloud of colors that seemed to surround the man. Dark blues, and a red that seemed closer to the color brown. Tsuna felt a feeling of foreboding as he watched the colors.  
  
  
“Yamamoto-san where is Atsuko-san?” His voice was quiet, barely loud enough to reach the man, but heard he did as Yamamoto-san stiffened. The hand covering his eyes fell away from his face, falling limp at his side. The look in his eyes had Tsuna sucking in a sharp breath, his eye widened, and he could feel the sting of tears in his eyes, before the older man even spoke.  
  
  
“Atsuko-- Atsuko was in an accident a few days ago,” the man explained, shoving his trembling hands into the pockets of his trousers. And for the first time Tsuna realized the man was wearing a black suit with a white collared shirt underneath, the tie hanging loosely around his neck, “I-I’ve been looking for you,” he gave a bitter laugh, “she was always talking about you, always saying what a sweet kid you are.”     
  
  
Tsuna could only stare at the man, as the words slowly turned in his head. It was like someone had taken a bat to his chest. It was gut wrenching, Atsuko-san was dead, had been for a few days, if Yamamoto-san’s words were to be believed and Tsuna saw no reason not to believe him and he had only just found out.  
  
  
His one and only friend was gone, and Tsuna didn’t know what to do.  
  
  
He wanted to scream, to cry, to be angry, because he had even missed her funeral. He didn’t even get to say goodbye. She was gone and Tsuna was all alone again.  
  
  
All alone, because no one wanted useless Tsuna, no one would ever willingly put up with him.  
  
  
His hands are shaking as he clutches the sheets of papers still in his hands. Everything seems to go gray from there, his vision swimming as his head falls forward his eyes staring at the ground once more. He hears someone calling his name and it must be Yamamoto-san, but it’s all muffled, nothing is coherent at that moment.  
  
  
Because his friend is gone.  
  
  
Maybe, maybe her leaving, and giving up on him would have been less painful? Because then, then Atsuko-san would still be alive. Not buried in a wooden box.  
  
  
A pair of arms wrap around him, pulling him into a comforting hug and Tsuna stiffens in the older man’s embrace. Yamamoto-san says nothing, just tightens his hold around Tsuna. And Tsuna, Tsuna does nothing, just remains tense in the older man’s arms. His trembling hands still clinging to the sheets of paper.  
  
  
“Atsuko really loved you,” his words are soft, barely above a whisper, but Tsuna hears him just fine. He feels the stinging of tears in his eyes, his vision blurring with unshed tears. He chokes back a sob, his hands raising to cling onto the older man's suit jacket, the sheets of ruined paper gently falling to the ground.

* * *

  
Tsuna’s not sure what to do anymore. He has no friends to talk to, now that Atsuko-san is gone. His mother still keeps her distance, his bullies have come back with vengeance, now that Atsuko-san was no longer around to scare them off, and honestly Tsuna is just sick of life.  
  
  
His meetings with his psychiatrist, don’t help with anything, only continue to get more annoying. Annoying because that doctor has noticed something different about Tsuna, noticed something has upset him. And isn’t it funny that a stranger notices, while his own mother doesn’t?  
  
  
She continues to ask him to open up to her, but Tsuna doesn’t. Her colors are alway a pale orange around him, and Tsuna knows she’s frustrated with him. She says Tsuna might be falling into a depression. And Tsuna can’t help but think for someone so intelligent, she can be so so dense.  
  
  
He just lost his one and only friend, the only person who ever really seemed to care about him. So of course he’s going to be upset. Not that she knows that piece of information.  
  
  
Tsuna continues to put up with it, continues on with his life like he always did before Atsuko-san came into his life. He goes to school, does his best at avoiding bullies, continues to fail his classes. Goes back to being no-good Tsuna, with no friends.  
  
  
But it’s hard, it’s hard continuing on with his day, knowing that Atsuko-san won’t be meeting with him at the end of the day like she always did.

* * *

    
It was six months after Atsuko-san’s death that Tsuna meets Yamamoto Takeshi for the first time. And it's honestly one of his worst memories to date, excluding Atsuko-san’s death.  
  
  
It happens on the first day of his first year of middle school. They have class together, and Tsuna immediately recognizes him when he walks through the classroom door. He’s the spitting image of his father. Yamamoto takes a place a few seats away from him, and is immediately surrounded by eager classmates. Tsuna wants to look away, he really does, because if he was caught staring there was no doubt that his classmates would be all to happy to harass him for it.  
  
  
But he can’t.  
  
  
The colors surrounding Atsuko-san’s son are a mixture of dark blues and purple. They're nothing like Atsuko-san’s own brilliant green or even Yamamoto-san’s own pale blue and green (who is slowly but surely getting over his wife's death.) His attention stays glued to the group of classmates, or more specifically on Yamamoto-kun, because he’s laughing, and joking, and getting along just fine with his classmates, friends, but it’s all just a facade.  
  
  
Like Tsuna’s own mother.  
  
  
And Tsuna immediately hates it because this is Atsuko-san’s son, he shouldn’t be hiding what he was feeling, and he definitely should not be feeling like he was currently. He shifts in his seat, his gaze still focused on the familiar child, and then Yamamoto glances up, his eyes meeting Tsuna’s own unintentionally. His smile slips from his face as he continues to stare, and Yamamoto’s sudden silence has his friends attention swiveling around to stare at Tsuna as well.  
  
  
Tsuna is immediately on the receiving end of his classmates jeers and taunts. He does his best to ignore them, after all it’s not anything he hasn’t heard already. Yamamoto’s eyes are on him the entire time, never once shifting from his form.  
  
  
“What’s your name?” The words take Tsuna by surprise, his eyes widening as he continues to stare at the dark haired boy sitting a few seats away. The class falls into a hushed silence at Yamamoto’s question, and Tsuna can only continue to stare in bewildered silence. Yamamoto waits, his head tilted to the side as Tsuna shifts in his seat nervously. The whole class seems to have their attention focused on him and Yamamoto.  
  
  
“S-Sawada, Tsunayoshi,” he mumbles out, his eyes shifting around the class, trying his best to avoid looking at the classmates watching the interaction with rapt attention. He eyes drift back to Yamamoto, and he immediately tenses when he catches sight of the aura of colors that surround Yamamoto. The colors have darkened slightly. His eyes drift to the taller boys face, and there on his face is the same faux smile he had on the entire time, but somehow Tsuna knows that smile is different.  
  
  
“Ah, Useless-Tsuna!” Yamamoto grins, and there is something cruel behind that smile. Tsuna flinches back, as if slapped. Because that had hurt more than if it had been any of the other person in his class saying those words. The class breaks out into loud laughter at Yamamoto’s words. He recieves a few pats on the back from his friends and everyone’s attention is immediately shifted back to the dark haired baseball player.  
  
  
Tsuna stays seated away from the crowd of students, doing his best to curl into himself wishing he could disappear. He feels the burning of unshed tears and he turns his head away from the class, not wanting anyone to see him on the verge of tears.  
  
  
 _‘He’s a good kid! Always so happy!’  
  
  
_ _‘He loves meeting and making new friends.’  
  
  
_ Those things Atsuko-san always seemed to say about her son seem like such a lie at the moment. He wasn’t anything like Tsuna had thought he would be. Laughter continues to echo throughout the classroom, only quieting when the door slides open once more, revealing their new teacher.  
  
  
The students surrounding Yamamoto’s desk scatter, each one moving to find a seat of their own. It doesn’t take long for introductions to get started and then finished, students move around as they are directed to their newly assigned desks. Tsuna keeps his head down the entire time, his eyes doing his best to not look at the colored aura that surrounds the rest of the class. And when Yamamoto, Takeshi takes a seat next to him, Tsuna turns his body away from the taller boy.

* * *

  
It’s like a switch of sorts.  
  
  
After the incident with Yamamoto, Takeshi, who turns out to be quite the popular person, everyone seems to think it’s alright to make Tsuna a target. The name calling is nothing new, he had always had rude and cruel words thrown at him, but the rough shoving, which had only really been a rare thing before, is much more common.  
  
  
He constantly finds himself returning home battered and bruised. He avoids his mother as much as possible, but maybe he shouldn’t, maybe if he ran to her like he did when he was younger and fell over and scraped his hands and knees, maybe she would stop being so distant. But then maybe it would only make things worse between them.    
  
  
He makes his way upstairs, there’s a first aid kit in the bathroom that he’d need to get before he could make his way to his room. It’s as he’s passing his parents, really just his mother’s, bedroom to get to the restroom, that he pauses mid step. His mother’s indigo thread lays on the floor leading to his bedroom, the door closed over it. He turns in the direction of the way he had come, and there is the string leading back to the lower floor of the house. How had he not noticed that?  
  
  
He hesitates for a moment, before making his way back downstairs, as silently as he can. Not wanting his mother to see him the way he currently was. He closes the front door quietly behind him, he slumps against the door, only holding himself up for a moment before sliding down it to sit on the floor, his back against the door. He sits there for some time, his eyes closed, and he doesn’t move, not even when he hears his mother come downstairs. He stays seated and doesn’t move, at least not until he feels something twitch against his hand.  
  
  
His eyes open, his head tilting down to stare at where his mother’s indigo colored thread is twitching. He blinks in surprised confusion, lifting his hand out of the way as the string continues to softly twitch. His eyes follow the string as it leads to the front gate and then down the road.  
  
  
He stares, curiosity clear on his face, he glances back at the door closed behind him and then back to the string. He wraps his hand around the quivering string, it’s cool and sends a tingle through his arm. He pushes himself away from the door and quickly gets to his feet. He lets his hand fall to his side, but keeps his hold on the jerking string.

 

He follows the string out of the front gates, through the small street his house is located on, and continues following it until he enters the busiest parts of the shopping district and then out of it, into where most restaurants were located, the entire time he ignores the varying different shades of other strings.  
  
  
The thread in his hand begins to grow cooler in his hand the further he walks, and Tsuna glances down at the string in his hand, only to stop at what he see’s. The once Indigo colored string had faded into a lighter color, turning into what looked like a pale blue. His eyes move up following the string with his eyes, it takes him a moment to find the string, with so many others surrounding it but he does, the string having begun it’s jerking movements once more. The further it goes the darker it seems to get, the pale blue turning into a darker blue.  
  
  
Tsuna breaks into a light jog, ignoring the sharp pain that runs through him from his earlier injuries. He never lets the string drop from his hand, and he never takes his eyes off the now blue string. He barely manages to let out any sort of apology as he bumps and pushes people out of his way. His attention solely focused on the long piece of string he is following.  
  
  
The sound of angry and upset shouting just up ahead gives Tsuna pause, the string in his hand jerking a bit more frantically. He has stopped just a few meters away from what looks like a sushi shop. The words TakeSushi written clearly in front. The string gives another jerk, before there is a loud crash and more arguing reaches his ears. The door to the shop jerks open and two men come tumbling out, landing in a graceless pile of limbs. They are both followed by a third, and this one Tsuna immediately recognizes as Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi.  
  
  
He hadn’t really seen the man after the day at the park, only really seeing him on occasion when they crossed paths, the man seems to be doing better than the last time Tsuna had seen him, the dark blue that had surrounded him is much lighter now, the darker blue is still there, (and Tsuna doesn’t think it will ever really go away) but the lighter blue is much more prominent now. It would seem Yamamoto-san was healing while his son was not. And mixed in with the blue is a pale red, the man was obviously frustrated.  
  
  
Yamamoto-san has his hands on his hips as he glares down at the two men still sprawled on the floor.  
  
  
“If you’re going to fight, do it somewhere else!” The man says, raising his hand in a gesture to the men, demanding them to leave, “this is a place to eat peacefully, not act like barbarians!” The blue string wrapped around his left wrist immediately catches Tsuna’s eye. The blue was not as bright and vibrant as his wife’s had been, it was only just a bit brighter than Tsuna’s mothers own string. His eyes trail down, following the blue string as it leads to the ground and then in Tsuna’s direction, before raising once into Tsuna’s hand.  
  
  
Tsuna startles at the string in his hand. Because out of everything that he had expected to be on the other end, this had not been one of them. Maybe, just a little bit, he had been hoping it would be his father. His father who had not been around for years, who only called once a year, who only sent postcards but never with a return address. Who else could possibly be connected to his mother. His eyes shift back up to the man that was somehow connected to his mother, and felt disappointment, because why had he even gotten his hopes up? He lets the string slip from his hands, letting it slowly float to the ground.

****  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Tsuna isn’t sure what to do. All he wants to do is ask Yamamoto-san what his relationship with his mother is. But it’s not something he can just ask, or he just doesn’t know how to ask.  
  
He can’t help but feel an ache in his heart, because he had hoped that maybe if he followed the colored string, maybe, just maybe he would find his dad on the other end. Except that isn’t what happened instead what he had gotten was more questions that will continue to go unanswered.  
  
He really should have known better. His father had not been around for years, only sending idiotic postcards to let his mother know that yes, he was still alive and healthy, and every few years he would give them a call, but not remain on the phone for longer than a few minutes.  
  
Tsuna lets his eyes slide closed, before burying his face in the plush pillow. He ignores the shuffling outside in the hall that signals his mother getting ready for bed. There’s a pause just outside his door that has Tsuna’s eyes sliding open slightly, his attention going to the door.  
  
It’s quiet for a brief moment before the sound of footsteps continue past his bedroom door. His attention remains on the door, the familiar feeling of disappointment filling him.

* * *

  
Tsuna is halfway through his second year of middle school when he meets Hibari Kyoya for the first time. Oh he had heard of him, heard so many things about the older male. Just never anything good.  
  
_He's a monster!_  
  
_Demon._  
  
His name was usually spoken in a low whisper, and always respectfully and fearfully. The speaker always looking over their shoulder as if expecting the prefect to just appear out of thin air to strike them down for crowding, or some other ridiculous reason.  
  
Tsuna honestly hoped he would never meet him. Because if Hibari Kyoya was someone everyone feared, who purposely struck fear into people, then he must be a terrible person. The ‘peace keeper’ must have some ugly colors surrounding him right? Tsuna had enough of dark and murky colors thank you very much.  
  
It’s not like he had gone looking for him or anything. No really, _he did not go looking for him._

* * *

  
Tsuna’s day had gone just as it always had, wake up (Maybe on time maybe late, most likely late because if he just barely made it on time then he didn’t have to deal with any bullies that were eagerly awaiting his arrival.), get dressed, go downstairs and collect his lunch (Because even if his mother couldn’t stand to look at him, she still woke up and made him lunch for the day, disappearing back into her room before Tsuna came down. Tsuna could never help the feeling of joy that filled when he saw the wrapped bento, because his mother still cared enough to prepare a lunch for him. She hadn’t completely forgotten him.), and rush out the door.  
  
He got to class just before the late bell rang, because he had no intention of ever meeting the disciplinary committee chairman. It had been no different than before, he took his seat, got a few nasty insults thrown at him, because he was the ‘lucky’ one that once again got to sit next to Yamamoto Takeshi. Tsuna personally thought he was pretty unlucky in that aspect to be honest. He went about his day same as always and when the bell signaling the end of the day rang throughout the school well Tsuna was the first one up and out of the class.  
  
Because he needed to get home before any of the bullies decided it was a good day to harass Tsuna.  
  
The thing was he had almost made it.  
  
He was halfway home, when he was harshly yanked back by his shirt collar. He let out a cry of pain at the rough treatment, as he landed on the hard ground. Jeering laughter meeting his ears. Trepidation filled him as he turned his head to catch sight of the mixture of red, orange, and purples that surrounded the group, and knew these people were some of his more ruthless tormentors. They smirked down at him, a malicious glint in their eyes. Tsuna quickly shifted until he was standing, the group still managed to tower over him, and Tsuna wonders if he would be able to outrun this particular group.  
  
“Look what we have here guys!” One of them spoke, his grin widening at the prospect of taking his frustrations out on someone, or more particularly Tsuna. “It’s no-good Tsuna!” His friends laughed, as they arranged themselves so they surrounded Tsuna, and the smaller teen had no way of escape. Tsuna eyed the group warily, he knew what was coming, there was no doubt about that, not with the colors that surrounded them.  
  
They were angry and frustrated, and Tsuna, Tsuna was the perfect person to take their frustrations out on. He was the perfect victim, who would come help no good Tsuna? All they truly needed was one lookout to keep an eye out for any wandering police officers and they were golden. And if by some strange chance someone did call the police at what was soon to occur, the police officer would not make it in time to help Tsuna, only really show up to handle the aftermath, and who exactly would that help?  
  
“Do you still see colors freak?” the question had Tsuna’s attention snapping to one of the males standing just to his right. He was grinning just like any of the others, malicious, and mean, and with the intention to hurt. “I heard from someone I knew that this idiot was always going on about seeing colors that surrounded people!” He explained when the rest of his group turned to him in askance. “He was taken to a therapist because his mother thought he was crazy!” Laughter met those words, and Tsuna flinched back.  
  
How had they known that? The issue with him seeing a therapist had been kept quiet, no one was supposed to know.  
  
Tsuna slowly backed away, maybe if shoved hard enough he would be able to get through the two that stood at his back. Arms wrapped around his torso, lifting him off the ground, and Tsuna let out a terrified sound. He kicks out his legs, and recoils in shock when his foot meets with someone's face. The teenager lets out a surprised cry of pain as he flinches back at the pain, his hands coming up to cover his face, or more specifically to try and stem the flow of blood that is coming from his nose.  
  
Everything stops for just a brief moment as everyone is taken by surprise at Tsuna actually fighting back.  
  
“Don’t stop now!” A voice snaps at him, sharp and commanding and so unfamiliar, and Tsuna just listens to it. He raises his arm and shoves his elbow back with as much force as he can manage. The one holding him flinches back, more in surprise than actual pain, but he drops Tsuna. Tsuna doesn’t wait, he pushes himself to his feet and runs.  
  
The group follows quickly, but Tsuna is just a bit faster, and he had never been more grateful for all the times Atsuko-san had made him run around the park. He manages to lengthen the distance between him and the angry group following behind him.  
  
It’s as he’s reaching the bridge that stands over the river that he slows down as something strange catches his attention. There on the ground, twitching madly is a purple thread, his eyes follow it on pure instinct. It leads to a teenager dressed in all black, his coat hanging off his shoulders, resembling a sort of cape, and wrapped around the fluttering sleeve is a red armband.  
  
Tsuna slows to a full stop, the thought that maybe he should get somewhere safe and fast leaves him in the face of this new person. The colors surrounding the teenager are a pale blue, pink and purple like color. It's strange in the sense that he had never seen those colors surrounding a person together. It was oddly pretty.  
  
The teenager turns from where he had been staring out at the flowing water, and his grey eyes immediately zero in on Tsuna. The pink darkens, but it’s barely noticeable, if Tsuna had not been paying attention he probably would not have noticed the change at all. The younger male makes no attempt to move and continues to stare at the mixture of colors.  
  
Tsuna misses the narrowing of the stranger's eyes, and the dark haired male's lips part as if to say something, only to snap closed the next moment when loud and angry shouts reach Tsuna and the older male. Tsuna tenses in fright, because he had missed his chance to run away. He had missed his chance to reach his house injury free.  
  
Tsuna glances behind him and he can see the approaching figures of his earlier tormentors. They seem to catch sight of him because their shouts get louder and angrier, and they seem to close in faster on him. Tsuna’s heartbeat is pounding loudly in his ears as he takes a step back and away from the quickly approaching group.  
  
It’s as they almost reach him that they all just seem to come to an immediate stop, or atleast try to. Their shoes skidding across the ground throwing up dust, and the one that had been leading the group of delinquents stumbles before one throws out an arm to keep him from landing on his face.  
  
It’s the strangest thing, Tsuna decides as he takes in the aura of colors surrounding them. The previous colors of orange and red and purple seem to fade away from every single one of them, taken over by a solid color of yellow. The group of delinquents were scared. Their eyes were focused not on Tsuna, but just behind him, and Tsuna turns to see what could possibly have these large teenagers so scared.  
  
Tsuna immediately freezes when he catches sight of the dark red orange color that surrounds the male he had been distracted by. His eyes have narrowed dangerously as he eyes the group before him.  
  
“Crowding in my presence,” the dark haired male begins his voice low and dangerous, and Tsuna takes a step away from the male in fear when what seems to be a pair of tonfas drop into his hands. Where had he kept those? Tsuna absently wonders.  
  
The words seem to cause more fear in the group, the yellow darkening. The leader of the group throws their hands out in a pleading gesture, as the rest of his friends look about ready to run like their very lives depended on it, and maybe it did.  
  
“H-Hibari-san!” Tsuna feels his eyes widen in recognition at the name and his attention darts back to the older boy, in wonder. “P-please forgive us, it will not happen again!” the leader begs, as he slowly begins to back away, as if already knowing that there was no chance that Hibari-san would forgive him and his friends, and the slightest twitch from the prefect will result in their retreat.  
  
“I will bite you to death.” Hibari finishes as if the larger male had not spoken, or perhaps just didn’t care. Tsuna honestly believed it was the latter. The group of friends let out loud squeals of fear as Hibari-san darts forward with no hesitance at all, tonfas immediately meeting flesh as he lands a terrifying blow to the leader’s head, sending the male flying backwards and crashing back to the ground hard.  
  
He doesn’t check to see if the male will stay down just immediately darting after the three who had made a run for it. They let out horrified screams when they see the violent prefect immediately closing in on them. Tsuna can’t help but feel disgust as he watches, because those three had been hoping that Hibari-san would take his time beating their friend so they could get away.  
  
Hibari-san doesn’t take long to down the three that had tried to escape. He stands tall among the mess that was once three delinquents, his hands merely flicking his tonfas to rid them of the blood staining the metal. He spins on his heel, turning his back to the mess that he left behind, and his eyes land on Tsuna.  
  
It hits Tsuna like a slap to the face. He should have run when the older male had been distracted by the delinquents. But he hadn’t, too entranced by Hibari-san as he took down four people larger than him. He had taken them down and neither one of them had been able to land a single blow on the prefect.  
  
“Loitering is prohibited.” Hibari-san says eyeing Tsuna with a look that lets Tsuna know that he needs to leave now, or he will end up just like the four unmoving bodies on the floor.  
  
“I-I’m sorry.” He apologizes, shuffling as he takes a step back “I’ll leave now.”  
  
Hibari watches him coolly, tonfas held loosely at his side. Tsuna is grateful, because that would mean the prefect has no intention of dishing out some sort of punishment on Tsuna right? He doesn’t waste anymore time before his legs are moving again, he wants to get out of the area before Hibari decides that he does in fact want to punish Tsuna for loitering. The fear of being ‘bitten to death’ doesn’t stop Tsuna from glancing back at the taller male.  
  
His colors are back to the pale blue and purple they had been before the group of bullies had come along, the pale red the only thing missing. The Prefect meets his eyes and Tsuna has to resist letting out a terrified shriek when his dark eyes narrow at catching Tsuna staring at him.  
  
Tsuna quickens his pace making it over the bridge in record time.

* * *

  
Tsuna doesn’t realize it until he’s safely tucked away in his bedroom. He catches his own reflection on the glass window, and there are no bruises marring his skin, nothing really, just a small speck of dirt that he quickly wipes away from his face.  
  
He had been cornered by a group fully intent on causing him pain and he had managed to get away with no injuries. Tsuna has a hard time believing it. He lets himself fall back into his bed, eyes focused on the white ceiling above him.  
  
There had been a moment back there where he had been certain he would be making his way home with a new batch of bruises, but it hadn’t happened. Because Tsuna had somehow managed hurt one of them. Because Tsuna had caught them by surprise.  
  
Because Tsuna had heard a voice. Inside his head.  
  
Tsuna had heard a voice inside his head. No one else had reacted to the sound of the voice, so Tsuna must have heard it in his head right?  
  
The thought had Tsuna pushing himself up until he was sitting. He was hearing voices now. The strings, and auras weren’t enough and so now he was hearing voices in his head. He didn’t need this. He didn’t want this.  
  
Why was this happening to him?  
  
He took in a shaky breath, his eyes closing in hope that maybe everything would just go away. That everything would go back to the way things were before everything with Hiroshi had happened. When everyone just believed him to just be a little strange, just quiet and shy. To when his mom could look him in the eye, and stay in the same room as him. His hands clenched around the fabric of the blanket covering his bed.  
  
It was useless, because things would never go back to the way they used to be. Tsuna was the weird useless boy no one wanted to be caught hanging around with.  
  
Maybe he was just supposed to be miserable for the rest of his life.  
  
The thought wasn’t as saddening as it should have been. He was already miserable, what could possibly be worse than what was he going through now? Tsuna let his hands uncurl from the blankets, taking a deep breath to calm himself.  
  
He was fine.  
  
He would be fine. No amount of voices in his head or any sort of colored things only he could see would change that. He was fine. He ignored the soft clattering noises that reached his ears from downstairs that signified his mother was home.  
  
He was going to be fine.  
  
He had to be.

* * *

  
Tsuna wasn’t even a little bit surprised when he was cornered behind the school by a group of upperclassmen. Their faces formed some frightening sneers as they stared at Tsuna. Tsuna kept his eyes solely focused on the leader’s face, his eyes never once wavering to the strings tied to their wrists or even the the aura surrounding them.  
  
“We heard you had a run in with Hibari yesterday Sawada?” The leader spoke, his eyes narrowed as he took in the boy’s bruised free form. “Of course that ain’t possible cause you seem pretty fine to me.”  
  
It didn’t take long Tsuna to jump to the conclusion that this group of teenagers were friends with the group that had been attacked by Hibari-san the previous day. It wasn’t even all that surprising. It was more surprising though to not hear a single insult slip through the older male’s mouth as he addressed Tsuna.  
  
“So that leaves the question,” The man closed in on Tsuna. Tsuna stumbled back in fright, trying to get space back between him and the larger boy. The man grabbed the front of his shirt, dragging him forward until his face was only inches away from Tsuna’s. “Did you snitch out our friends Sawada?”  
  
“N-no!” Tsuna stuttered out, barely managing to keep the scream that was building up in his throat from coming out. His eyes darted away from the older teen’s face, attention immediately going to the aura that surrounded the male. The color that surrounded him was a dark red, he had never seen someone look so angry before. “I-I-I didn’t tell H-hibari-san a thing!”  
  
“I-He--I didn’t even know that was H-hibari-san!” He tried to elaborate, his eyes never once wavering from the aura surrounding the leader. The other three that had come with the leader seemed content to stand back, and for that Tsuna was the tiniest bit relieved.  
  
“Didn’t know that was Hibari?” The man let out a bark of laughter, before his eyes narrowed in disbelief. His hand tightened around the fabric of Tsuna’s shirt. “I don’t like liars.”  
  
“I-I’m not lying!” Tsuna exclaimed, his voice wavering. The leader of the group shouts something but Tsuna doesn’t hear it. There is a low hum in the back of his head that draws his attention, a soft quiet hum barely loud enough to hear over what was being said by the delinquents, but that was steadily growing louder and louder. And then all Tsuna hears is the soft humming, as if the angry teen is the one who had lowered the volume of his voice.  
  
There’s a flash, and then the man’s face twists into something resembling pain. Tsuna catches the sight of a fluttering sleeve, before the man’s hold on Tsuna loosens and he’s tumbling forward toward Tsuna. Tsuna stumbles backwards, crashing into the wall but away from the weight of the larger male. Tsuna’s eyes drift away from the limp body on the floor to the only other person standing.  
  
Hibari-san stands there, the colors surrounding him a light shade of red and purple. His arms are at his side, a tonfa in each hand. His attention is focused on Tsuna, eyes narrowed. The three other delinquents that had been with the largest male are downed and unmoving on the floor.  
  
“Classes are over, loitering is prohibited.” He says. Tsuna can do nothing but stare at the dark haired male, eyes wide. Hibari shifts, his tonfa coming up to connect painfully with Tsuna’s head. He flinches at the pain that shoots through his skull, hands coming up to cover the spot the tonfa had hit.  
  
“I-I’m s-sorry!” he manages to say, staring up at the older male through watery eyes. Hibari’s eyes seem to narrow dangerously, and Tsuna gets the hint. He quickly moves to gather his bag from where it had been tossed, and waists no time in leaving the area.

* * *

  
It’s not until he’s halfway home that he realizes the strange humming he had been hearing is gone. Tsuna stumbles to a stop, hand going to his head.  
  
He turns back in the direction he had come from, and it dawns on Tsuna that it was the second time he had a run in with a group that had every intention to do Tsuna harm, and Tsuna had gotten out of it with no bruises.  
  
Well mostly. He didn’t think he could count the now forming bump on his head as anything serious. Iit could have turned out far worse, if the group from the day prior and today were anything to go by.  
  
But both times he had managed to get out of situation mostly unharmed, it was because Hibari-san had stepped in.  
  
Tsuna blinks, as an idea begins to slowly form in his mind. One that just might make his life a little bit easier.

* * *

  
“What the hell is the matter with you Kora?” The voice had him internally sighing in a sort of resigned manner. His eyes shift to the blonde figure that had decided to barge his way into his apartment.  
  
“Damn it Colonnello, don’t block the damn doorway!” someone shouts. The voice was quickly followed by a shove that sent the blonde flying to the floor with a startled yelp. A woman walked in, arms crossed and scowl on her face. She paid the blonde on the floor no further attention, walking forward and taking a seat across from him at the table. He refrained himself from sighing, eyes darting to his companion who was smiling at the two newcomers.  
  
“Hello Lal Mirch, Colonnello.” Fon greeted kindly. Colonnello pushed himself to his feet, raising a hand in greeting.  
  
“What are you doing here?” Reborn cut in before anyone could say anything else. Lal Mirchs’ attention focused on him, her usual scowl lightening some.  
  
“You’ve been acting weird Kora.” Colonnello answers, moving closer to where the other three occupants of the room are seated. He pulls out the last chair and falls into it. His eyes are focused on Reborn. “Well, weirder than usual.” the blonde grins. Reborn frowns.  
  
“There’s nothing wrong, I’m fine.” Reborn states, leaning back in his own chair. The other three share a glance between them, silently communicating something. Reborn Ignores them, his attention going back to the cup of coffee that sits cooling on the table in front of him.  
  
“Cut the crap Reborn.” Lal Mirch demands, her eyes narrowed into a glare. The other two sit back, obviously content to let Lal take the lead. “What the hell has been up with you?”  
  
Reborn blinks slowly, eyes darting from face to face. They all seem content to wait Reborn out. He must have been acting out of sorts if Lal and Colonnello had finally decided to step in and try to figure out whatever Reborn was not telling them. But the thing was, should he tell them? There was bound to be some sort of idiotic comment waiting to come out of Colonnello mouth as soon as he learned.  
  
His attention focuses on the blonde and the only female in the small group. The ones who would best be able to help him and keep it quiet while doing so would be this pair. He knew that, they were the only bonded pair that he truly trusted, no matter how annoying half of the pair annoyed him.  
  
“I had this….vision the other day,” He relents. Vision, could it even be described as a vision? It had been more of a feeling. There had been fear and helplessness, and Reborn had known it had not been him that had been feeling those things. He had been sitting in his kitchen, when the feelings had just come to be. He had nothing to be scared of, he didn’t even remember the last time he felt any genuine fear. “or more like a feeling.”  
  
The three around him seemed to sit up straighter at his words. Something flashes in Lal’s eyes, something knowing, like she had a feeling she knew what he was saying, but wasn’t completely sure.  
  
“Something I hadn’t felt in long time.” He clarifies when Colonnello face twists in confusion. the blonde opens his mouth to question him, but a nudge from his partner has his mouth snapping shut. Reborn’s attention shifts to the window just behind where Fon is seated. The three wait for him to continue but when he says no more Lal Mirch lets out an annoyed noise.  
  
“You’re gonna have to be more specific Kora!” Colonnello finally snaps out, his hands coming to slam on table. Lal’s eyes narrow in annoyance and she elbows the blonde harshly. She scoffs when the blonde curls into himself in pain.  
  
“He’s right Reborn.” She says crossing her arms as she stared Reborn down. Reborn returned her stare, unwavering even as Colonnello uncurled himself and started asking questions that went ignored by the dark haired male.  
  
“Reborn,” Fon cut in when it was apparent that neither of the two were going to give in any time soon. The sound of the final member of their little group drew both Reborn and Lal Mirch’s attention, the man having been content to remain quiet until then. He sat with his back straight, his attention focused solely on Reborn. “Perhaps you should elaborate?” he says it like it’s some sort of suggestion and Reborn has every right to agree or refuse. But Reborn knows Fon better, knows it’s his way of nicely telling Reborn to do something.  
  
Reborn is severely tempted to tell them all to politely screw off, and leave the issue alone. He’s ready to as well, his eyes narrowed and mouth parting to tell them exactly what he wants.  
  
It’s sudden and comes out of nowhere, the unbearable feeling of sadness. He feels so alone and he feels his eyes sting and blur as if he’s about to just fall apart.  
  
But that can’t be right. He hasn’t felt any feeling of loneliness since he was a child and walked into his home to find his mother on the floor dead.  
  
There’s the sound of of clattering and something heaving hitting the floor. His head snaps up to see Colonnello standing, his chair tipped back on the floor. He’s watching Reborn with wide blue eyes, his attention shifts to the other two occupants in the room. Lal Mirch is staring at him, eyes wide in surprise, before they narrow and she glances away, a look of contemplation on her face. Even Fon is watching with slightly wide eyes, Reborn’s sudden shift in emotion must have caught him by surprise.  
  
“What the hell Kora!” Colonnello exclaims. “What was that about!?”  
  
“Sit down Colonnello.” Lal orders as she kicks at his fallen chair and righting it. The blonde glances at her before falling back into his own seat. Her attention shifts to Reborn, who is currently poking around at his own eyes curiously, he stops when she addresses him though. “Explain.”  
  
He can’t help the irritated sigh that escapes past his mouth. He can’t help it, not with what has been going on around him as of late. So he tells them everything with great reluctance. He tells them of the emotions he has been feeling that he knows aren’t his own, of the little flashes of places he’s certain he had never visited, of the feeling that he should be out looking for someone but doesn’t know who.  
They listen to him, quiet and attentive, patiently waiting for him to finish and when he does the blonde in the room opens his mouth and says something Reborn had been expecting from the beginning.  
  
“Heh, Guess even the great Reborn doesn’t have all the answers.” He grins widely at the thought of knowing something his rival didn’t. Reborn eyes immediately narrow into a glare, ready to say something no doubt mean and biting at the blonde.  
  
“There’s a chance it’s your partner.” Lal’s voice cuts off any retort though, her voice coming out stern as she casts a warning look at Colonnello. The blonde merely shrugs his shoulders with a grin, but says nothing else. Reborn shifts his attention to the only female in the room. “It’s sounds like what happened between Colonnello and myself.”  
  
He had a feeling that that would be the answer to everything that had been occurring to him, but he had no way of confirming. He knew of very few bonded pairs and even less that were willing to give him answers about their own bond. In fact the pair before him was the only one who he would even begin to trust with this information.  
  
“How would I go about finding them?” he asks. His question is met with a snort from the only blonde in the room. Reborn’s eyes narrow into a glare as he turns to the blonde.  
  
“It’s not that hard.” Colonnello states, his arm draped across the back of his seat. Lal Lets out a sigh at his words, looking as if she’s about to give her partner a terrible scolding. Fon’s voice stops her though, his voice stern and not the usual kind and friendly tone he always uses when speaking.  
  
“Not everyone has the privilege of accidentally stumbling across their other half Colonnello.” the words have Colonnello snapping his mouth shut with a click. Fon still has the ever present smile on his face, but the warmth that usually accompanies it is missing, his attention focused on the blonde. Lal Mirch eyes narrow into a warning glare as she turns to face Fon. Reborn blinks slowly as he watches what must be a rare sight, someone in their small group of eight gearing up for a fight with Fon.  
  
It’s even stranger it being Lal Mirch of all people. He never thought he would see the day Lal Mirch even gave Fon a glare, the two of them being some of the most level headed of the group. It’s what happens when someone threatens one’s bonded partner, and Lal being the one that leads the pair would not take anything from anyone.  
  
It’s a story everyone of the strongest knows. Colonnello a new recruit for COMSUBIN arrives for training and handed off to Lal Mirch. They hadn’t known at the time they first met, only months later when, apparently something similar to what was happening to Reborn happened to the pair did they realize it. They wanted to spend more time with each other, always have one within eye sight and not so far where one could not reach the other if something were to happen.They had not needed to search far, the pair only being a few feet away from each other.  
  
“Hey.” Reborn calls out, not even bothering to rise from his seat. The glaring pair don’t glance away from each other, but by the quick twitch they each give he knows he has their attention. “This was about me wasn’t it?”  
  
He leans back into his chair, eyeing both Fon and Lal Mirch. They don’t so much as blink at his statement. His hand twitches, he’s tempted to reach for the pair of pistols he can feel on his person and break up whatever it is that is currently occurring.  
  
Fon breaks away first turning to Reborn and offering him an apologetic smile. Lal’s eyes narrow further before turning her head away with a huff, Colonnello watching her with a concerned frown.  
  
“Forgive me Reborn,” He says rising from his seat gracefully. He pushes it back in until it’s under the table, and offers Reborn a slight bow. “But I believe it is time I take my leave.” Reborn blinks, but offers the other man a short wave as he walks to the door. The door closes with a soft click.  
  
“We’re leaving too.” Lal Mirch announces, pushing herself out of her seat. Colonnello blinks in surprise but moves to stand as well. “Iemitsu is expecting us today.” Reborn lets out a noise of disgust at the name. He had never been particularly fond of the man, in fact he was a nuisance to Reborn. The fact that he was Timoteo’s advisor was the only reason he had not shot the blonde.  
  
She turns to the door, Colonnello right behind her. She doesn’t pause until the door is before her, her hand on the handle. She turns back to him, her face determined.  
  
“Pay attention to the visions you get, those are your clues in finding your partner.” She says hand clenching around the handle, before letting her hand fall away. “The only one’s you’re going to get.” she hesitates briefly as if not sure whether she should tell him anymore. It’s a strange thing to see from the usual straight forward and brash woman. She clears her throat before speaking.  
  
“I never felt Colonnello’s emotions and he never felt mine,” She begins, Colonnello stands behind her looking serious as he listens. “There are rumors that say that only happens when one is going through some sort of ordeal.” The last part had Reborn frowning.  
  
Lal Mirch reaches for the handle once more, pulling the door open this time. It’s as she’s stepping out that she says something that has Reborn on edge for an unknown reason.  
  
“I hope your partner isn’t a civilian Reborn,” She holds the door open until Colonnello is out the door before she releases the handle letting it fall closed behind her. Reborn watches her back until the door shuts with a click, barely catching the last words she speaks. “That’s the last thing you need.”


	4. Chapter 4

It was official, Tsuna had lost his mind.  
  
In what part of his perfectly sane mind did he ever decide that this was or would ever be a good idea? Maybe there really was something wrong with him, and not with just being able to see things no one else could see, but something genuinely wrong with his mind.  
  
The thundering footsteps of the group of boys chasing him were loud to his ears. His breath came out in short gasps and there was a burning in his legs as he pushed himself faster and further than he had before.  
  
It had been days since anyone had managed to get their hands on Tsuna. The brown haired male making a point of remaining on school grounds until Hibari-san came out and chased away any lingering students who wanted to do him harm. Just a look from the prefect had anyone scampering off. Tsuna would wait until they were gone before following quickly after, the prefect giving him nothing more than a withering look, before tossing a tonfa in Tsuna’s direction. Tsuna always knew it was coming but he could never resist the shriek that escaped past his lips at seeing the steel weapon coming at his head, before barely managing to gracelessly duck out of it’s way. He would then give what he was sure was a barely coherent apology, before running off.  
  
If Tsuna had been caught outside of school, well he just ran back to Namimori middle, the prefect more likely than not found there. He was usually caught not to far from the school, anyhow. That day though had been different. He had been more than halfway home, passing a convenience store when the group of three had walked out, bags in hand. They had frozen in surprise at unintentionally catching Tsuna.  
  
Tsuna had broken out of his surprised stupor first, spinning on his heel and running in the direction he had come. The pack of teens were quick to follow. Tsuna knew that his house was closer, far closer, and there was little chance that they would follow him in, than Namimori middle, but his first thought had been Hibari-san.  
  
Find the prefect, before the the delinquents grabbed hold of him. That had been the plan. It seemed that this trio had been far more athletic than any others Tsuna had dealt with in the past. He only had another block to reach the school when they caught up with him, one male tackled him, and Tsuna hit the ground hard.  
  
His body was pinned under the heavier body. There was cruel laughter above him as a hand slammed his face into the ground with a great amount of force. His vision blurred and everything went dark briefly. There was more cruel laughter, louder this time, before everything seemed to go silent. The body above him stiffened suddenly.  
  
There was the sound of metal hitting flesh with a sickening crack, and then the extra weight that had him pinned to the ground was gone. There was a pained yell, before everything went quiet once more. Tsuna gasped for breath as he pushed himself off the floor, shifting his body so he could see behind himself. His eyes widened briefly as he caught sight of the three downed delinquents, bodies unmoving. There standing among the unmoving bodies was Hibari, his attention solely focused on Tsuna. The younger of the two could only stare, and Hibari’s eyes narrowed, before they blanked.  
  
He walked past the male on the floor, Tsuna’s attention focused on him. He was leaving, Tsuna realized. His lips immediately parted to once again thank the older male, only to snap shut just as quickly when the prefect stopped. He turned slightly, his attention on the younger male still on the floor.  
  
“Come, herbivore.” he turned and continued his walk back to what Tsuna believed to be the school. Tsuna blinked, before finally taking in the soft cloud of colors surrounding the prefect, they were the usual soft purple they always seemed to be, with the exception of a soft hue of red. He was irritated, and Tsuna couldn’t help but wonder at that.  
  
Tsuna pushed himself to his feet quickly, only to regret it immediately when he swayed and his vision span. His hand came up to clamp over his eyes, giving himself a moment for his vision to settle. It was a moment later that his hand fell from his eyes, his attention focusing on a red smear.  
  
Ah, it was blood he realized. He blinked down at his blood covered hand, his face blank. The sound of shoes crunching against gravel had him glancing up, Hibari stood there watching Tsuna, his face set in a look of boredom. He blinked before turning and continuing his walk, Tsuna followed behind him at a slower pace.

* * *

  
Tsuna had been right, Hibari returned to Namimori middle. Except instead of heading to the disciplinary office like Tsuna believed he would, he headed straight to the nurse’s office. Tsuna watched, bewildered when Hibari slid the door open and walked in. He hesitated briefly, (Hibari had led him here, there was little chance that the prefect would ‘bite’ Tsuna for entering.) before walking in. He barely managed to catch the white box that the prefect threw at him, having to pull his hand from where he had been covering the wound on his forehead to catch it.  
  
He blinked when he realized it was a first aid box. He glanced up at the prefect, who was leaning against the nurses desk, arms crossed and eyes shut. He was surrounded by his usual soft purple. Tsuna took a seat on one of the few chairs in the office before pulling out what he needed. He prodded at the cut, the blood must have dried on their way to the school. He blinked down at the antiseptic spray, before tilting his head back and clenching his eyes shut. He really hoped he didn’t miss the actual cut on his head and end up spraying his eye.  
  
“Herbivore.”  
  
Tsuna startled at the unexpected sound of the prefect's voice, his hand squeezing the bottle and fortunately spraying his right cheek. His arm quickly raised to wipe at the wet spot on his face, his attention turning to the prefect.  
  
“E-eh?”  
  
There was a moment of silence where Tsuna and Hibari just stared at each other. Tsuna twitching nervously, one hand tugging at his sleeve, there were specks of blood from where he had it placed it over the cut on his forehead.  
  
“You’re not scared, herbivore.” Tsuna wasn’t sure if Hibari was asking him, or was just stating a fact. Tsuna gave a barely visible shrug in answer. Tsuna knew that Hibari was a frightening person, everyone feared him, even the people Tsuna had feared.  
  
Tsuna couldn’t find it in himself to be scared of Hibari. He was violent and had a tendency to beat people senseless when they broke some sort of rule, whether it was one of Hibari’s own or a school rule. The thing was though, in the short time he had met Hibari or had even known of him, the prefect had never needlessly hurt Tsuna, had never looked at Tsuna like he was someone damaged and not even worth his attention, like some people still did.  
  
He was one of the first people to ever help Tsuna, no matter how unintentional it was.  
  
“I-I don’t find Hibari-san frightening.” He lets out, curling into himself. Silence met his words.Tsuna would admit to being curious to what the prefect was feeling but kept his eyes focused on the floor. Maybe he had annoyed Hibari-san? There was the sound of shuffling, before a hand ran through his hair, and yanking it back until his head was tilted upwards.  
  
Tsuna barely had time to blink in surprise before something cool and wet was being placed to his forehead.  
  
“Hiiieee!” Tsuna yelped in a mixture of pain and surprise when he caught sight of Hibari standing over him. What ever had been placed to his forehead stung, Tsuna raised his hands up to cover the cut, but they were quickly smacked away by the prefect. Hibari moved whatever he had on Tsuna’s forehead around with more force than was probably necessary but Tsuna said nothing, only watched with wide eyes. His head remained tilted upwards, until Hibari withdrew and dropped something to Tsuna’s lap.  
  
He glanced down and had to hold back a wince in disgust when he realized it was a used antiseptic wipe covered in dirt and old blood. The sound of more shuffling had Tsuna glancing up, just in time for something to smack against his forehead. Tsuna bit back a yelp of pain, raising his hands to his forehead, and curling into himself slightly.  
  
The feel of something cool and smooth, and not the raised and cut skin, had him blinking in surprise. There was a bandage over his cut. He glanced up at the older male, his face was blank as he stared down at Tsuna. His eye’s narrowed dangerously.  
  
“Stop getting into trouble herbivore, or I’ll bite you.” he turned and slammed the first aid box closed, before leaving the office, no doubt heading to his office. Tsuna sat there for a moment eyes wide. It had been a threat, Tsuna knew that, but it was one the brunette was having a hard time believing.  
  
A soft laugh escaped past Tsuna’s lips, a smile tugging at his face. There was a sense of genuine joy that filled him.  
  
It had been a long while since Tsuna had felt some sort of genuine happiness.

* * *

The sound of glass shattering echoed in the otherwise quiet room. His hand curls into a tight fist as he feels pain shoot through his skull, closely followed by the sense of fear and utter hopelessness. The action is met with stunned silence. It was so unusual for the dark haired man to lash out for any reason at all.  
  
“Reborn!”  
  
He clenches his eyes against the feelings, letting his face blank as he turns to the owner of the voice. Aria’s blue eyes were narrowed into a glare as she stared at Reborn disapproving. Reborn said nothing his hand still clenched tight. Receiving no response, or even apology seemed to anger Aria further.  
  
“If you’re going to go around causing pointless destruction, do it somewhere Yuni is not going to be witness to it!” She demanded, hands clenching into fists as her glare remained on the dark haired man. His dark eyes darted to behind the older woman, catching sight of the young girl clutching her mother’s leg.  
  
“Ah, I apologise Yuni.” he offered the young girl an apologetic smile, one the child returned with one of her own.  
  
“It’s okay, uncle Reborn!” she said cheerfully, releasing the hold she had of her mother’s leg and running forward to take Reborn’s larger hand into her own. Reborn let her. Aria content with the apology, and the knowledge that Reborn would behave himself in front of Yuni.  
  
“You shouldn’t worry so much Uncle Reborn.” Yuni hummed as she fiddled with the buttons of his suit sleeve. She glanced up at him with a smile.  
  
“Oh?” Yuni nodded.  
  
“You’ll find him.” she said happily, tugging at his hand with every intention of dragging him back to where her studies were going to be held that day. Reborn froze at the statement, forcing Yuni to stop mid step. He stared down at her, eyes curious.  
  
“He?” He questioned. Yuni smiled widely, the happiest Reborn had ever seen her. She nodded her head eagerly. She grabbed his hand with both of hers, and tugged.  
  
“Yeah! He’s just like me!” She laughed, a loud and cheerful sound. It caught the attention of everyone currently in the room. Aria’s attention immediately shifting to her daughter then to the blonde that stood to her right. Gamma shrugged in reply, but his eyes were slightly wide as he watched his partner’s daughter.  
  
“Like you?” Reborn forced himself to ask. He didn’t want to, not when there were people listening to their conversation, but if not now when? Yuni was a child and would probably forget the details of what they were discussing when she went to her lessons, or went down for a nap.  
  
“Like me, but not like me.” she said, seeming content to swing Reborn’s arm, as she waited for the questions to end. Like Yuni? What did that mean? Was his partner not a civilian then? Was he also a young child? There were so many things they could be. “He’s special! I can see him!” She elaborated.  
  
“Yuni!” the sound of her mother’s voice had Yuni’s smile dropping. Her eyes narrowing into what could possibly be called a glare, but looked like a pout. “What have I said about bringing that up with others?”  
  
“Not to.” Yuni said, her voice soft as she stared at the floor. She released her hold on Reborn’s hand, her own falling to her side. Aria let out a sigh, her face softening and she offered her daughter a smile.  
  
“Your lessons will begin soon.” She said. Yuni nodded and quickly left the room with a last wave to Reborn. The doors clicked behind her and Reborn turned toward Aria, a brow raised in question. Aria let out another sigh, this one in annoyance.  
  
“Yuni has a very active imagination.” Aria began, turning to lean against the table that was placed in the middle of room. “She likes to think she can see the future.”  
  
“The future?” Reborn questioned incredulously. Aria nodded, as she gestured for Gamma to follow after Yuni. The blonde raised a brow in surprise, but said nothing and left the room.  
  
“The doctor calls them hallucinations, or acts of an overactive imagination.” Reborn blinked at that statement. “That’s what we treated them as, made sure she believed them to be nothing more than dreams and not real.” She hesitated, hands clenching into a fist.  
  
“But?” Reborn prodded. Aria released a shaky breath.  
  
“The older she gets, the more she believes it’s the future she’s seeing.” A hand came up to run through her hair, tugging at strands. If it were any other time, Reborn would probably berate her for showing weakness in front of someone. “We’ve kept it quiet in case someone really does believe this crap.”  
  
Reborn can see where there would be problems. Everyone would want to get their hands on Yuni, no matter how they would have to go about it.  
  
“Alright.”  
  
“Alright?” Aria repeated, incredulous. Her eyes slightly wide as she took the man before her fixing his suit. Reborn shrugged, turning towards the door. “Reborn!?”  
  
“She can either see the future or she can’t,” he said. His hand curled around the cool handle of the door. “Either way you have to keep quiet.” the door clicked open, and he turned towards the older woman before him.  
  
“I won’t tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Aria sputtered in outrage. It was amusing, considering it wasn’t something one saw in the usually calm woman often.  
  
“I know that!”  
  
“Anyway,” Aria calmed at the sight of the look Reborn currently had on his face. “All the doctors you’re sending Yuni to are not helping, you should stop.”  
  
“E-eh? How did you-” Reborn gestured behind him where Yuni had disappeared to earlier. “Yuni tells me about her doctor visits, she just never told me why she was seeing doctors. I can figure the rest myself.” He smirked. Aria frowned in annoyance.  
  
“You’re a good mother,” Reborn stated, before Aria could say anything. Aria’s eyes widened in slight surprise at the compliment. “Stop with the doctors.” it wasn’t a request, it was an order. Reborn knew he had no right to dictate how a mother raised her child, and he never had any intention to step in with someone who was doing a good job.  
  
It was just the memory of Yuni looking so sad when she came back from seeing a doctor that had him saying anything at all. He received a hesitant nod, before closing the door behind him. He was halfway down the stairs that led to the exit when he felt an overwhelming amount of joy.  
  
He paused mid step, blinking in surprise. It was the first he had felt any sort of positive emotion since this had begun. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of life his partner had.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is actually a time skip in this chapter, it's actually two years after the last chapter. I thought about writing out in detail Hibari's and Tsuna's friendship, but that would take awhile so I settled for a time skip. Also this isn't beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

At the age of sixteen Tsuna’s life is not perfect, but it is bearable. He still sees things no one else seems capable of seeing. He still has a Psychiatrist constantly questioning him, his mother still seems incapable of speaking to him. He’s still known as no good Tsuna.  
  
But he has a friend.  
  
A friend who has a penchant for violence, and never hesitates to beat someone senseless, but a friend none the less.  
  
Tsuna isn’t sure exactly how it happened, he never thought he would ever gain a friend, wasn’t sure if he wanted another one after having lost his first one. But after the incident in the infirmary, It just sort of happened. Tsuna continued to seek out Hibari whenever bullies targeted him, and the older teen continued to ‘bite them’ when Tsuna found him. That never changed, except Tsuna never seemed to have to run far before he found the prefect.  
  
It took longer than it probably should have for Tsuna to realize that Hibari was keeping an eye on him. It was a strange concept to him, having someone intentionally looking out for him. After that revelation, Tsuna had taken to following the older teen, from a safe distance of course. The prefect was often annoyed with him and tended to aim a tonfa at Tsuna’s head, never hard enough to do more than sting, but he never told Tsuna to leave and so Tsuna never did.  
  
The bullies immediately backed off when it was clear that Tsuna was being allowed to follow the prefect around, and any new bruise seen on Tsuna would bring down swift and painful retribution. While Tsuna no longer had to deal with any sort of physical abuse from his classmates because of Hibari, that didn’t put a stop to the insults. The words just as hurtful as any kind of physical blow.  
  
Sometimes the words got to him. Sometimes Hibari hit him over the head for no reason, and made him sort all the files in his office. Tsuna would whine to the prefect and Hibari would do nothing but stare at Tsuna with an unreadable expression (there were so many files to arrange that Tsuna tended to forget what his classmates even said to him, which was the whole point Tsuna would eventually realize.)  
  
Tsuna’s life was not perfect by any means. He still had nosy doctors calling in to constantly check in with him. His mother still would not speak with him. His classmates still seemed to hold a great dislike for him. But Tsuna had a friend, and that made things just a bit more bearable.  
  
Someone who knew of the constant nagging doctors that he saw bi weekly, but didn’t question him about it. Who allowed Tsuna to stay curled up in his office moping for a grand total of ten minutes before dragging him out on patrol. He was kept out so late that by the time Tsuna got home, his mother was already getting ready for bed in her own bedroom.  
  
So yeah, Tsuna’s life was not perfect. But there were times when Tsuna would be filing through a pile of papers, or following behind Hibari, silently watching the purple thread tied neatly around his left wrist, and he would glance up at the prefect and there would be a soft green, almost white, aura surrounding the older teen, and Tsuna could say he was happy.

 

* * *

Happy laughter fills the quiet hall, drawing his attention and his steps slowing to a stop. The laughter sounded as if it was coming from Yuni. He glanced back from the direction he had been originally heading before turning and following the sound of laughter. It led him to one of the empty guest rooms.  
  
Well if one could call it that. It was a guest room but everyone knew it belonged solely to one person or well persons, and no one else would dare to occupy it. He stopped at the door, listening intently for a brief moment before the sound of laughter reached his ears once more.  
  
He knocked against the door, and the laughter died down momentarily before the sound of a thud and a soft giggle broke loose once more. He turns the knob and pushes the door open to the sight of Colonnello hanging off the bed in what looks to be a painful position with Yuni looking down at him, a smile on her face.  
  
Lal stood on the other end of the bedroom rummaging through a decent sized bag, ignoring the duo on the bed. She turns toward him and gives him a nod in greeting. The sound of a soft gasp and then the sound of fabric rustling is all the warning he gets before someone wraps themselves around his waist.  
  
“Uncle Reborn!” Yuni greets happily, pressing her face against his abdomen. He gives a small smile in return, his hand raising to rest on the young girl’s head.  
  
“Hey.” he returned, his attention focused on the girl clinging to him. He turns to greet the other two occupants in the room properly, only to stop when Yuni pulls away from him, hands tightening around his suit jacket. He glances back down, staring into wide curious blue eyes.  
  
“Did you find him?” she asks. Lal Mirch and Colonnello blink in confusion,not understanding what the young girl was speaking of, but Reborn didn’t need any sort of clarification. It was the same question Yuni asked every time she saw him, had he found his partner yet? And each time it was the same answer, no.  
  
He hated telling her that though. Hated seeing her bright curious smile dim with disappointment each time he answered negatively. The thing was though, he had nothing to go on but a few flashes of buildings and what seemed to look like a lake. He never caught sight of any building names, or streets, nothing that gave away what country they could even be found in.  
  
Reborn was good at what he did. He was good at tracking down people with barely any information, people who were trying to hide from him, but even he couldn’t find someone with what little he had. It pained him to admit it, but it was true. He choked back a sigh, his hand ruffling Yuni’s dark strands, much to the young girls annoyance. She pouted at him, raising her hands to fix her hair.  
  
“Not yet.” he answered. Yuni nodded, a smile forming on her face. She lowered her hands from her head and reached for his hand, tugging at it gently. He let her, blinking down at her in bemusement. It wasn’t how she usually behaved when he gave her the usual answer.  
  
“Uncle Reborn,” she began slowly, large blue eyes staring up at him. They were the same blue eyes that always lit up at the sight of him whenever he came over for a visit, except now they had something darker to them. As if they held a secret only Yuni was privy to.  
  
It was these rare moments when Yuni got a certain look on her face, when her bright clear blue eyes darkened, and a small smile replaced the usually wide one, that Reborn believed her claims of seeing the future. It was something she claimed, something she had told her mother, and something Reborn had never believed.  
  
Over the years since he learned, and the others worked on getting her to stop with her delusions, he played along. He let Yuni tell him of all the different things she had dreamt of, of the things she had seen. He never once told her he didn’t believe her, and if she knew Reborn didn’t believe she never said anything. He listened because no one else would, and he believed that someone should. If for nothing else than for Yuni to have someone on her side when people called her delusional and a liar, no matter how politely phrased.

Aria didn’t approve, of course she didn’t. She saw it as Reborn encouraging Yuni’s delusions, and silently blamed him for her daughter’s insistence that she was seeing the future. But Yuni believed, believed so deeply in what she was seeing that Reborn knew that any refusal from him would only alienate the girl further.

  
(And maybe it was Yuni’s strong belief in knowing that he would find his partner that had Reborn searching for him. She was definitely the reason the ‘them’ in his own head had turned into a ‘he’ when he thought of his partner. Her insistence in referring to his partner by the correct pronouns had finally gotten to him. There were times he would stop and wonder how Yuni had even learned of his partner when he had never told her.)  
  
“Uncle Reborn, where’s Namimori?” the question had him blinking, confused. He stared at blue eyes, staring up at him questioningly and drew up short. What? The question had come from nowhere. He glanced up to where Lal Mirch and Colonnello stood, watching silently. Colonnello offered a shrug in response and Lal Mirch didn’t even glance at him, attention focused solely on Yuni.  
  
“Namimori?” he questioned. Yuni nodded tugging at his hand, uncurling his fingers and palm facing up. She turned slightly, reaching down to the small pouch she had hanging at her hip by a string tied to the ribbon that was wrapped around her waist. He blinked, he had never even noticed the small white pouch. She pulled something out, hand clenched around it, she reached up placing it into his outstretched hand. He blinked at the younger girl, and when all she did was smile encouragingly he pulled it toward him, taking in the crumpled piece of paper and what was on it.  
  
It looked like a crest, the inside colored red with a large capital black ‘N’ centered in the middle and what he guessed were supposed to be vines on either side of the ‘N’ but just looked like spiky squiggly lines. ‘Namimori’ was written in much smaller font at the top. It looked similar to a school crest.  
  
“Namimori!” Yuni exclaimed happily. He pulled his attention away from the drawn crest in his hand to blink at her, waiting for her to explain. “I was thinking about him last night before I went to sleep.” Reborn nodded slowly, already knowing who Yuni was referring to without having to ask. Yuni always seemed to get a certain gleam of excitement in her eyes when she spoke of whoever Reborns partner was.  
  
  
Sometimes Reborn believed that Yuni was more excited about finding this stranger he was connected to then Reborn himself was. Whenever Reborn asked her about it, Yuni answered the same way every single time.  
  
_‘He’s like me!’_ She would exclaim happily, but never explain more than that, and at some point Reborn had stopped asking.

  
“When I went to sleep I had a dream and I saw this.” She pointed at the sheet of paper Reborn still held in his hand. “It felt really important.” She finished, hands clasped behind her back as she stared at him.  
  
Namimori. He knew of Namimori, it was a decently sized town in Japan, a neutral zone under the protection of the Vongola. Nothing of interest ever happened there, so Nono tended to leave it alone, only sending a few men to check in every few months to make sure everything was still as it should be. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to pay a quick visit.  
  
He paused, hand clenching around the sheet of paper in his hand. It was happening again he realized. He was once again running wherever Yuni wanted him to. He turned his attention to the young girl staring up at him knowingly, she knew he was going to pay Namimori a visit.  
  
How big a hit would his reputation take if people learned that he could be pushed around by a thirteen year old? The muffled snort that filled the silence was answer enough. He shot Colonello a glare at the same moment Lal Mirch whipped out a shirt, hitting the blonde’s face with a loud _smack._ He fell back with a pained yelp. Yuni let out a giggle, before running toward the blonde.   
  
Reborn bit back a sigh, attention catching at the wrinkled paper in hand.  
  
Namimori huh?

 

* * *

Being friends with Hibari Kyoya, Tsuna has learned, grants you certain privileges. For instance, being allowed to go home early with no questions asked (It was probably because at this point everyone knew No good Tsuna and the demon Hibari were friends, to their continued disbelief, and everyone was too scared to question Tsuna for fear of some sort of retribution from the dark haired male). It’s not something he likes to take advantage of, never takes advantage of. Maybe before he was friends with Hibari he would have happily taken any chance to leave the school early.  
  


It’s different now though. School used to be the second most hated place to be right after his own home, now? Now he looked forward to school. It was a place where he actually felt welcomed, if only in the disciplinary committee. Where people didn’t see him as the nuisance he always felt he was. A place where instead of the ugly colors that were common when he was around, he was surrounded by the opposite, bright and beautiful colors.

  
That day had been different though, or well more like that week. All week there had been flickers of auras just out of his sight, sparkling and flickering a deep olive green, purple, and red. It was always there, and every time he turned to catch sight of the owner behind such auras it would be gone, out of his sight.

  
He had tried to ignore it, he had gotten good at that, ignoring the colors that surrounded him to focus on one thing. Every time he would try though, something in his stomach would tighten, anxious, worried. Something in him telling him to not ignore those colors, keep his guard up, it was dangerous.  
  
As the week went on, he realized he was being followed by those colors. Whoever was behind those clouds of color was following him, and it seemed they had no intention of stopping. He debated on telling Kyoya that someone was following him, before the thought was quickly pushed away. He wouldn’t bother Kyoya over such a trivial matter.  
  
As the week went by, and whoever had been following him continued, a sharp throb in his temple began. A slight nuisance that could be easily ignored. Or he had believed, but the constant staring over his shoulders and the insistent buzzing in his head only seemed to make the pain worsen, to the point even Hibari had noticed and sent him home to rest. He couldn’t even bring himself to protest, just gathered his bag and left the school grounds.  
  
That had obviously been his first mistake. He had just made it to the bridge that ran over the lake when the person who been following him finally made an appearance. Or well, persons. Tsuna stopped short taking in the dark green and purple that surrounded the pair standing at the other end of the bridge.  
  
  
It was a male and female pair. Both tanned, with dark hair, the girls pulled into a high ponytail and the male’s own was cropped close to the head, both clearly foreigners. He barely paid any attention to that though, what caught his attention was the green and red string that wrapped around both wrists, connecting them to each other, both colors blending perfectly with each other in the middle.  
  
  
He blinked in wonder, it was the first time he had ever come across two people who were connected with the exception of his mother and Tsuyoshi-san. He shifted his attention away from the colorful and bright string, just in time to see the fist coming towards him.  
  
It connected with the side of his head with a loud smack, sending him staggering back. Tsuna barely managed to catch himself before he hit the ground. He opened his mouth, ready to demand answers, when another blow connected with his abdomen, knocking the air out of him. He hit the ground hard,  and with barely a thought curled in on himself, protecting anything that could do any serious damage.  
  
“ _Basta, Gianna._ ” The unfamiliar words cut through the silence There was a tense silence before the sound of footsteps reached his ear.  
  
  
_“E’ patetico, Alessandro.”_ Silence followed the girl’s words. With slight hesitation, Tsuna lowered his hands from his head, but made no other move. He didn’t need to see the colors surrounding the woman to know she was displeased. She was glaring at the man, obviously displeased and having no problem voicing it, arms gesturing toward Tsuna. The male glanced in his direction briefly before, silencing the girl with a quick word and sharp gesture.

  
There was no hesitation when they both moved toward Tsuna, and he knew he needed to get up and run, because what ever these people wanted, it could not be anything good. He didn’t need the sharp pain in both his head and stomach to tell him that either.

 “You are Tsunayoshi, yes?” the man asked, as he crouched so he was hovering over Tsuna. Tsuna said nothing, simply glancing between both him and the woman standing a short distance away, his attention staying on the woman longer than needed. The man followed his gaze, before turning back to face Tsuna. “You do not need to worry about her.” the man patted Tsuna’s arm in a gesture meant to offer comfort but all it did was make Tsuna tense at the lingering appendage.  
  
“ _Alessandro.”_ The woman broke in, the purple aura shifting into a more red color. The man pulled away, showing his hands to the woman. The woman glared before stalking forward, pushing past her partner and grabbing Tsuna’s arm, forcing him to uncurl himself.  
  
  
“Where is he?” She demanded, her greens eyes narrowed into a glare. Tsuna shook his head, confused as he tugged at his arm. The woman pulled at his arm hard, sending sharp pain to shoot up his arm. Tsuna bit back a cry of pain, shaking his head as he stared at the woman with wide eyes.

 

“I-I don’t know who you’re looking for.” Tsuna got out, weakly tugging at his arm. The hold the woman had on him was painful, and Tsuna wouldn’t have thought she had the strength to single handedly hurt him. The hold she had around his arm tightened, and Tsuna knew that was going to bruise later.  
  
_“The Hitman!”_  she hissed out. Her nails were digging into the fabric of his shirt, and Tsuna was glad for the thin layer of protection it provided, he was sure her nails would have broken through skin if not for the fabric. “Where is the Hitman?”

  
“I don’t know any hitman!” Tsuna exclaimed, fear coating his words as he once more tried to pull himself away from the dangerous woman.

  
“Gianna, You are scaring him.” Alessandro cut in, his tone sounding bored, Tsuna chanced a glance at the man, catching sight of the light purple surrounding him. The man was bored, his friend, partner, whatever was hurting Tsuna and the man was bored.  
  
“ _No mi importa!_ ” The woman, Gianna, shot back. His attention shifted back to Gianna, the red surrounding her had darkened, a dark splotch of purple blooming among the red. It was odd compared to her partners.  
  
“W-why are you so angry?” the words were out before he could really think on it. His mouth clicked shut. The woman’s eyes narrowed further in obvious confusion, her hold around his arm loosened so it was no longer unbearably painful. His eyes darted between her and Alessandro and back. Maybe it was better if Tsuna just kept his mouth shut, but it was already too late for that. And maybe, maybe he could use this to his advantage. “W-why are you so angry, and _he’s_ not?”  
  
Gianna tensed, hands tightening around his arm. She blinked, her face blanking as her green eyes met Tsuna’s own wide ones. “ _Why?_ ” she repeated lowly, the word coming out slowly, the colors around her darkening. The sudden quiet seemed to catch Alessandro’s attention because he turned towards them, eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
  
_“Gianna.”_

“ _Shut up!_ ” The words were harsh. Her hold on Tsuna tightened painfully, before her left hand darted forward, clenching around the collar of his shirt, and pulling him close until only a small space remained between them. Tsuna tensed, expecting another blow. “It is because I am stuck with this-this _disgusting animal_.” She released her hold on Tsuna, and shoved him back so he hit the hard ground.  
  
Hot pain shot through his face as Gianna’s palm met the left side of his face. She lowered herself so she was straddling him. Both her knees a painful weight as she placed them over his arms, holding him down and giving him no way to fight back.  
  
“I am stuck with him, not by choice.” She said, lowering herself until her face was hovering over Tsuna’s own. He let out a cry of pain as she shifted, her weight being held up by the knees currently crushing Tsuna’s upper arms. “I need the hitman to change that.” her voice was soft as she spoke those words. “Where is the hitman?”  
  
“I-I don’t-” the words were cut off as Gianna’s palm met his face again.  
  
“Do not lie to me!” She hissed out. Her hands clenched around his face.  
  
“I-I don’t know!” Tsuna exclaimed. His hands were shaking, if they were of out fear or pain he did not know. Whoever these two were looking for, they were obviously willing to do anything they could to find him. And for whatever reason, they believed Tsuna was their best chance to find him. “I-I d-don’t know who you’re talking about.” his voice trembled, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, he just wanted everything to be over.  
  
“ _You-_ ” a loud bang rang through the air, cutting off whatever Gianna was going to say, followed by something hitting the ground. She spun around quickly, eyes widening. Tsuna couldn’t see what exactly it was that she had seen, but by the muddy yellow that overpowered all the other colors it couldn’t anything good.  
  
“ _Alessandro!_ ” She yelled, voice full of disbelief and pain. The colors surrounding her took on a much more orange and red tinge to them. She shot up to her feet, her hand darting behind her to pull out a pistol and taking aim. “ _Bastardo!_ ”  
  
Tsuna pulled his attention away from the angry woman, rolling to his side and catching sight of what had set the woman off. Alessandro lay unmoving on the ground not to far away from where he had been standing moments before. Even from where Tsuna lay he could see the red that stained the man’s white shirt.  
  
A pained cry had Tsuna pulling his gaze away from the man’s body to where Gianna was crouched, clutching her hand to her chest. It happened quickly, one second Gianna was clutching her hand to her chest and the next she was face down in the dirt, unmoving.  
  
Tsuna could only blink wide eyed as he took in the two unmoving bodies. The sound of crunching dirt had him slowly pulling his attention from the bodies and to the pair of polished shoes that stopped in front of him.  
  
“She’s not dead.” A new voice spoke. It had Tsuna tensing, eyes focused solely on the black polished shoes, not a speck of dirt on them Tsuna absently noticed. “I don’t kill woman.” that begged the question of men. There was a sigh, before the figure Tsuna was avoiding crouched in front of him, arms moved toward Tsuna adjusting him so he was sitting and not awkwardly curled on the floor.  
  
  
The stranger reached out a hand, ignoring the flinch Tsuna gave at the action, and lifted his head so Tsuna’s own terrified eyes were meeting cool black. “They sure did a number on you.” the man said, turning Tsuna’s head slightly before dropping his hand. Tsuna’s hands were trembling, and he forced them into a fist. The man blinked at him slowly before stretching a hand out.  
  
“Chaos, I’m Reborn.” Tsuna could only blink at the hand being offered to him, as if the man hadn’t just murdered someone, possibly two if the man was not to be believed. Tsuna did the only thing he could do.  
  
He ran.


	6. Chapter 6

The running away was something he should have anticipated. It should not have taken him by surprise, it should not have left him blinking after a quickly disappearing figure. Yet there he was, crouched low hand still raised as he tried to process that the boy was no longer there. It was truly undignified.  
  
The greatest hitman was left at a loss for words.  
  
The soft sound of shuffling drew his attention, he turned to face the form of the woman who had been previously unconscious. She was watching him, her green eyes narrowed in anger and her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl.  
  
“You.” She growled out, slowly pushing herself up until she was sitting up. “You sure took your time showing yourself.” She spat at his feet, one arm coming to clutch at her injured arm. Reborn blinked slowly taking in the dark haired woman before his attention slid to the unmoving figure of the man who was obviously her partner.  
  
“Oh? Were you waiting on me?” he questioned casually. He pushed himself up from his crouched position and made his way over to the injured woman. “You knew I was going to be here.” The woman let out a mocking laugh.  
  
“Of course, you fool.” hers lips twisted into a mocking grin as she stared up at him. “Who wouldn’t come to the rescue of their pathetic partner,” she explained, her eyes darted to the unmoving figure a bit away from her. It was a quick glance barely noticeable and easily mistaken as an annoyed roll of the eyes, but Reborn caught it all the same.  
  
Her words had him tensing momentarily before he forced himself to relax. These two had obviously known who the boy was, had attacked him because he was connected to Reborn. It made sense, Reborn had made many enemies over the years, why shouldn’t they go after his partner to get to Reborn when they obviously couldn’t get Reborn himself. Except how had they known to go after the small brunette when even Reborn hadn’t known the boy was his until moments before he had stepped in to help him.  
  
Had only found the boy because of the overwhelming fear and pain Reborn had suddenly felt, the brunette’s fear, as he wandered around the town. The strong urge in him that pushed him in one direction instead of another until he was in the perfect position to see everything that had been happening. Perfect position to pull out a gun and shoot without much thought, just that the young brunette being held to the ground being beaten had to be his and no one touched what was his.  
  
His eyes narrowed on the hunched figure as she continued to stare up at him. A smirk on her face full of smug confidence.  
  
“Does it irk you that someone managed to find him?” She questions casually, her grin stretching in arrogance. As if she wasn’t at Reborn’s mercy, her life in his hands. “Does it unnerve you that someone managed to get through you?”  
  
Yes, yes it does but Reborn would be dead and buried ten times over before he even considered admitting it to anyone out loud. HIs hand tightened around the gun in his hand in a small show of annoyance and raised it so the woman could see it. Green eyes immediately snapped to the handgun, eyes wary. Fear flashed through her eyes before it was immediately pushed down.  
  
“How did you find out about him?” Reborn questions. He lowers himself into a crouch so the other woman doesn’t have to stare up at him. “Who told you about him?”  
  
The thought that someone knew who Reborn’s partner was before even Reborn is an entirely new level of annoying. How was it even possible? The woman’s face shutters and Reborn knows she won’t answer. He could forcibly pry the answer out of her, but the thought of doing such a thing to a woman leaves a bad taste in his mouth.  
  
His eyes slide over the woman to land on the figure lying unmoving. He lets out a sigh before pushing himself to his feet. He steps away and around the green-eyed woman, her narrowed gaze following his form.  
  
“I hear that losing one's partner is more painful than losing a limb,” he begins, coming to a stop before the limp body of the woman’s partner. Her eyes widen in fear, and it takes longer for her to fight it back down. “Yet, you seem fine.” With the exception of the pained grimace, she’s been doing her best to hide that Reborn himself has caused. He raises his gun, making an obvious sign of switching the safety off, he aims at the figure.  
  
He meets hazy dark brown eyes and feels a smirk tug at his mouth. He’s not sure how the other had managed to avoid being killed like Reborn had intended, (they had come looking for Reborn so he’s not too surprised they had to have some skill, no matter how little) but he’s glad for it now.  
  
He glances back at the glaring form of the woman, her hands are clenched into tight fists and she looks like she would want nothing better than to strangle Reborn with her bare hands. He raises a brow in silent question. The woman grits her teeth as she watches him, her eyes darting from Reborn to her partner, but says nothing.  
  
That itself lets him know that these two didn’t have the best relationship. He had seen the bond between Colonnello and Lal, had seen it between Aria and Gamma, and neither pair would have hesitated to save the other no matter how much little patience they had with each other.  
  
Reborn tilts his head in acceptance, he meets green eyes head on and without any hesitance, he pulls the trigger. The bang the gun lets out is deafening in the quiet streets, but not nearly as much as the pained scream the man lets loose before he forces himself quiet, teeth digging into the flesh of his lips. He didn’t shoot anywhere immediately life threatening, as long as they give Reborn the answers he’s looking for the woman could get her partner some help.  
  
“You bastard!” She screeches. The woman surges to her feet with the full intention of running for Reborn. She stops short when Reborn aims the gun just a little higher until it’s aiming at her partner’s head. The man has curled in on himself, arm reaching to cover the bleeding wound on his left shoulder, his other hand covering the first gunshot wound just a bit away from the second. At this rate, the man just might die of blood loss with the amount of blood he’s losing. Reborn gives the man another minute, maybe two, before he’s beyond saving. By the look on the woman’s face, she knows this as well.  
  
The woman lets out a stream of curses as she glares down Reborn, and if looks could kill then maybe the two would have stood a chance against him.  
  
“W-we don’t know his name!” She exclaims eyes darting between Reborn and her groaning partner. He says nothing just urging her on with a twitch of his hand. “A man just came to us and told us he could help us kill you, help us make a name for ourselves, told us where to find your partner!” She hurries on, the anger in her face fades into panic as the pained groans of her partner grow quiet. Her tan skin is looking pale and Reborn knows she can feel her partner fading.  
  
“What did he want?” Reborn questions. The woman takes a step forward her attention focused on her partner only but she still answers.  
  
“You dead, that’s all.” She turns pleading eyes towards him, and it never ceases to amaze him how far someone is willing to go for a bonded partner, even one not strongly bonded like this pair. One moment this woman had been determined to not bend for Reborn and now she stood there silently pleading to Reborn.  
  
Reborn took a step away from the man and she wasted no time to run forward, not once glancing at the gun Reborn still had in his hand. Reborn watches with a detached interest as she skids to a stop over the man, her hands quick to replace his as she covers the wounds still bleeding out.  
  
It’s pathetic. There’s no way that he’s going to survive, he had been laying there bleeding out for too long. The woman’s pale and her hands are shaking, covered in blood, her breath coming out in pained gasps. There’s no saving him, them. Not that he would want to, they had come here with the intention of killing Reborn, of hurting his partner at least. They should have known they could not cross Reborn and expect to walk away.  
  
The shot rings out in the air, followed by a stunned silence. It’s the first time in a long while where Reborn has used more than a single bullet for something so mediocre. The silence doesn’t last long before it’s broken by the woman screaming.  
  
“W-what are you doing!?” She glances up at him, eyes blown wide. Reborn merely stares back not offering any explanation, he doesn’t owe her one and that she sits there looking up at him like he does is almost laughable. She seems to understand what Reborn’s thinking because she pushes herself to her feet her eyes narrow into a glare and her mouths pulls back into an angry sneer. Her lips part to what Reborn assumes shout insults at him, but what comes out instead is a pained scream she can’t bite back. She falls back to her knees, body bent over her dead partner’s own.  
  
He knows what’s happening. Her partner is dead and if rumors are to be believed, nothing hurts more than losing your partner. Reborn knows Killing her now would be showing her mercy, but Reborn had never been known for being merciful. It’s easy enough to knock her unconscious, a quick blow to the head is enough, she can’t even fight back.  
  
He pulls out his phone and makes a quick call, he needs to dispose of the bodies and he’s in no mood to do it himself. He gives his destination to the person on the other end and quickly ends the call, then it’s just a matter of waiting.  
  
He glances around the surrounding area. It’s quiet with no one in sight. That’s the thing about Namimori and the people who live there. They don’t blink when they hear gunshots and explosions and anything that could possibly hint at a fight. They avoid the area, plan around it and continue about their business. They bury their heads in the sand and ignore the cries for help, ignore anything that doesn’t involve them personally.  
  
It had been something that had never bothered him before, had been in fact grateful for it. Now? Now, he thinks about how the small brunette had been lying bruised and beaten on the floor and how no one had come along to help. Thinks of all those flashes of pain he had felt throughout the years, the feelings of loneliness and sadness and finds his hand clenching in irritation, in anger.  
  
He takes in a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. He’s attached he realizes, he’s done nothing but spoken a handful of words to the boy, doesn’t even know his name, and he’s attached. Is this what it means to meet your partner?  
  
He sure hopes not, because he doesn’t think he could handle much more of this.

* * *

 

Consciousness comes to him slowly. His eyes slide open, take in the white ceiling above him. He blinks up at it, confused as to why he’s staring at the familiar ceiling. He doesn’t remember arriving at the disciplinary office. The sound of someone shuffling catches his attention just before someone’s face pops into view.  
  
He catches sight of the colors first, a soft orange yellow color only overpowered by the light turquoise. He knows it’s Kusakabe before he actually sees the older boys face. The older teen always seems to be a strange combination of worry and calm. Kusakabe offers him a smile, looking relieved.  
  
“How are you feeling Tsuna-san?” he asks. His face disappears from view. Tsuna blinks before he pulls himself up until he’s sitting comfortably on the couch. He glances back to where Kusakabe had disappeared to and nearly hits himself with the bottle of water Kusakabe is handing him.  
  
“E-eh? I-I'm fine?” Tsuna fumbles with the bottle and offers a quiet ‘thanks’. Kusakabe stares down at him as he makes his way around the couch. Tsuna blinks rapidly, before shifting his attention to the bottle in his hands, uncomfortable with the intent staring. He fiddles with the cap, before twisting it off and taking a sip, and then another longer one. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until then.  
  
“You came running back to school scared out of your mind, and you’re fine?” Kusakabe says eyes still intent on Tsuna, the soft orange yellow surrounding him darkens slightly, his concern growing. His words have Tsuna pausing, and he lowers the bottle because he remembers. He sets the bottle down and raises his hands to his face. Instead of his hands meeting smooth skin he feels the familiar texture of bandages. He glances down at himself, his white uniform shirt has smudges of dirt and there are the beginning of bruises around his arm that is no doubt going to take on the form of a hand by the end of that day.  
  
He remembers the pair that had attacked him, the fear he had felt at being at someone’s nonexistent mercy. Remembers the suit-clad man that had come to his rescue, but had killed two people in the process. He remembers running as fast as he could to the only place he knew he would be safe, he ran to Hibari. Tsuna’s attention snapped up to Kusakabe.  
  
“He went to find the suit-clad stranger and the bodies you spoke of,” Kusakabe stated, answering Tsuna’s unspoken question. “He left me here to watch over you.”  
  
“I-I’m sorry,” Tsuna said, voice low. Kusakabe was always with Hibari, Tsuna knew how much the older boy preferred to be where Hibari could easily reach him. Kusakabe offers a shrug in return.  
  
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he says “he left me here to make sure nothing happened to you while he was away.” The colors around Kusakabe shift, the turquoise turning green. Tsuna can only blink as it seems to overpower the worry he’s feeling. Tsuna knows that Kusakabe is one of the few people Hibari trusts and allows to hang around, he just had never noticed how happy that seemed to make Kusakabe.  
  
The door to the disciplinary room slams open startling both Tsuna and Kusakabe, who quickly jumps to attention. Hibari walks in wearing an air of annoyance. Tsuna doesn’t need to be able to see the colors surrounding Hibari to know he’s displeased. He makes it to his desk without glancing in either Tsuna or Kusakabe direction.  
  
“There was no one there,” he says, taking a seat and turning his attention to Tsuna. Tsuna startles in confusion. There's a red-orange color surrounding the head of the disciplinary committee that lets Tsuna know that not only is Hibari displeased but also deeply irritated.  
  
“W-what?” Tsuna questions quietly, his hands clenching around the fabric that makes up the couch he’s sitting on. He swallows the lump that he feels building in the back of his throat, his mouth opens to defend himself, to let Hibari know that he’s not lying, but nothing comes out. What if Hibari already thinks he’s lying? He told Hibari that a man had shot someone, killed someone, had sent him out on some search that turned up empty.  
  
“There were no bodies, no shooter,” Hibari repeats. Kusakabe glances at Tsuna, and a flicker of orange appears in the light purple that had surrounded him when Hibari first spoke. A hint of worry in his disbelief.  
  
“What about the cameras?” Kusakabe asks, his attention shifting from Tsuna to Hibari. Hibari’s eyes narrow slightly as they stare Tsuna down, it takes everything Tsuna has to stare back.  
  
“They’re clean.” he finally says, shifting his attention from Tsuna to Kusakabe who straightens under the attention. “Someone tampered with the cameras in the area.”  
  
Tsuna feels himself relax at those words, letting out a shaky breath as he watches Hibari, and finally actually looks at the colors surrounding the older boy. The strongest color surrounding his is the red-orange, his irritation the strongest, but it fades into an orange-yellow color that takes Tsuna by surprise. Hibari is worried.  
  
“Tsunayoshi.” His name startles Tsuna out of his musings, his attention snapping to Hibari, who is now standing staring down at him. Tsuna blinks, glancing at Kusakabe who looks like he’s ready to leave the room, phone in hand, no doubt to follow whatever orders Hibari had given and Tsuna had obviously missed. “You’re staying with that woman tonight.” Hibari declares when Tsuna’s attention shifts back to him.  
  
Hibari never calls Tsuna’s house home, always referring to it as that woman’s house, never calls Nana his mother. It had always confused Tsuna at the beginning until he learned that Hibari hadn’t seen the house as Tsuna’s home, somewhere he could feel like he belonged where he felt wanted. He always looked at Nana with barely masked contempt.  
  
Hibari walks around his desk making his way towards the door leading out of the room, Kusakabe right behind him. Tsuna watches from his position on the couch until Hibari stops and turns back to him, a single brow raised. Tsuna flushes in embarrassment as he fumbles for his bag Kusakabe had placed beside the couch and stumbles for the door. Hibari lets out a huff before he turns around and continues walking, Kusakabe and Tsuna following behind him this time.

* * *

 

The walk to the Sawada house is short and quiet, not that Tsuna expected otherwise. The house seems empty and Tsuna isn’t sure if his mother just isn’t home or had just headed to bed early. Tsuna glances at Hibari, who’s staring at the house face blank. His irritation has faded slightly and taken on a darker purple to show his dislike for the house. Hibari’s face rarely seems to shows what he’s feeling, when it does it’s usually in annoyance, boredom or when he’s feeling particularly bloodthirsty. He’s rarely surprised, and seems to takes things in stride. 

  
Tsuna sometimes finds himself wondering how Hibari would take knowing Tsuna’s secret. It’s something he wonders and then just as quickly crushes and buries it away because Hibari’s his friend and he doesn’t need to know something that would make him look at Tsuna like he’s some sort of freak.  
  
Hibari drags his attention away from the house and turns back to Tsuna, blinking when he catches Tsuna staring. Tsuna feels heat rise to his face at being caught staring and hurriedly turns away.  
  
“I’m leaving someone here to keep an eye out,” Hibari says. Tsuna’s grateful he didn’t decide to question Tsuna about his staring, then the other boy's words process and Tsuna’s turning back to face Hibari.  
  
“All night? Is that fine?” Tsuna questions nervously, eyes darting around before meeting Hibari’s own.  
  
“They’ll switch among themselves.” Tsuna has no doubt Hibari means the disciplinary committee, but also not what Tsuna meant. There’s a man running around Namimori with a gun shooting people. Despite popular belief Tsuna is not a complete idiot, he knows Hibari is going to be looking for whoever the guy is. He’s leaving someone here because he thinks there’s a possibility that the man could come back for Tsuna.  
  
“T-that’s not what I meant!” Tsuna hisses, and it seems to startle Hibari if the pale yellow flicker of color is any indication. It’s quickly overtaken by a pale green, amusement.  
  
“It’ll be fine,” Hibari states and then ushers Tsuna into the house without actually doing anything but dart a glance towards the building. Tsuna wants to argue, but Hibari is already leaving, his back turned and ignoring Tsuna’s calls.  
  
A flicker of movement catches his attention and has Tsuna immediately turning towards it, startled. There’s a figure standing not to far off hidden behind the neighbor's wall, Tsuna freezes before he catches sight of what can be nothing else but a pompadour. He releases a shaky breath before darting into the house.  
  
The inside is dark and it’s all Tsuna needs to see to know that his mother isn’t home. Tsuna feels himself slump in relief, takes a deep breath and then heads up the stairs to his bedroom. He lets his bag drop to the floor by his door and pushes his bedroom door open. Cool air hits him and stops in the doorway. He doesn’t remember leaving his bedroom window open.  
  
The light suddenly flicks on to reveal his messy room, everything seems to be how he left it. With exception of his bedroom window, which in now slightly open. He tenses as he glances to his right where the light switch is.  
  
“Chaos.” Someone greets.  
  
The scream Tsuna lets out is loud and quickly cut off by a hand quickly covering his mouth. The suited man stares down at him slightly wide-eyed. Tsuna moves to kick the man, arms flailing as he tries to get the man to let go of him. It doesn’t seem to faze the man as he takes every blow with barely a wince.  
  
This, Tsuna thinks with a sinking feeling in his stomach, is how he’s going to die, murdered in his own bedroom by a man wearing a fedora.  
  
“You need to calm down.” The man says, taking a hold of Tsuna’s arm when it swings to close to his face and nearly knocking his hat off. “I’m not going to hurt you!”  
  
Tsuna continues in his struggle because strangers don’t sneak into people's houses and not want to hurt them. He breaks free of the man’s hold when his free hand manages to knock into the man’s face with a hard slap. Tsuna stumbles back, catching himself on the wall across from his room. The man has his face in his hands, cursing in something that isn’t Japanese, Tsuna had obviously managed to hit the man straight in the eye.  
  
Tsuna has every intention to run but a flash a yellow catches his attention, there wrapped around the man’s left wrist is a yellow thread. Tsuna’s eyes follow it down, curiosity filling him when he realizes it doesn’t pool at the bottom but hangs and leads right..to Tsuna’s own wrist. Tsuna pales as he watches the perfect blend of yellow and orange in the middle where both threads meet.  
  
Just his luck that the person on the other end of his string would be the one set to kill him.  
  
“Look, I’m not here to hurt you.” The man says suddenly, having pulled himself together. Tsuna forces his attention away from the strings and to the man who had broken into his house. He’s no longer standing in Tsuna’s doorway but had made his way out while the younger man was distracted so he was now standing between Tsuna and the stairs. He’s a mix between a dark and pale orange. Frustrated and anxious, Tsuna doesn’t pay it more than a quick glance. “Just want to talk.”  
  
Damnit Tsuna, way to go losing your chance to run. Tsuna eyes the man warily, then the way behind him. Tsuna takes a deep calming breath, eyes darting to his open bedroom door. The man catches the look and darts forward, but Tsuna’s closer and faster and makes it into the room, slamming the door behind him before the man could make it inside, resting his full weight against the door.  
  
Now to call for help. He reaches down for his bag and freezes when it’s not where he left it, his eyes dart around his room in search before it hits him. He had put it down outside of his room. He lets his head fall against his door, silently cursing his idiocy.


End file.
